Egyptian Expats Can Now Purchase Pension Plans in US Dollars

Egyptian expatriates aged between 18 and 59 will now be eligible to purchase pension plans in US dollars, with the National Bank of Egypt and Misr Insurance, a state-owned entity, collaborating on realising the project.

Eligible parties may buy into the pension plan through a one-time payment of a minimum of USD 500 and a maximum of USD 10,000. The payments may also be made in instalments over a period of 10 or 15 years.

The pension pay-outs may be redeemed at the age of 50, 55, 60 or 65. The move comes shortly after the Egyptian government introduced a new labour law which will see the official retirement age in the country gradually increase from 60 years to 65 years.

Over the past few months, the government has been introducing numerous programmes to encourage remittances in a bid to attract Egyptian expats to invest foreign currency into the country.

The introduction of the dollar pension policy has been introduced following the completion of all technical requirements, and its subsequent approval by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority.