Former Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) senior executive Patrick Mhango has said retirement should not be viewed as a single event, but as a long-term process requiring preparation and discipline.
He told participants at a pension seminar jointly organised by Continental Asset Management and Continental Pension Services in Blantyre on Friday that many workers face anxiety as they near retirement because their lives have been structured around daily routines and steady pay cheques.
“If there is something certain for a working employee, one day you are going to receive that one final cheque and you have to start thinking seriously,” said Mhango, who retired last September having worked for the central bank for 35 years.
He emphasised that pension deductions must be remitted within stipulated timeframes, warning that companies failing to do so are breaking the law.
Mhango, who served as RBM executive director responsible for supervision and regulation of the financial sector, noted that in some jurisdictions, employers face arrest for failing to remit pension contributions.
Industry leaders say awareness of pension remains limited with Continental Asset Management chief executive officer Gillian Kachikondo saying many workers misunderstand the purpose of pension.
“What we have noted is that there is still a gap in the market. Most people are not aware what the pension is supposed to achieve, which is a steady income when the final pay cheque comes,” she said.
Kachikondo said retirement planning should begin at the start of employment, not just a few years before leaving the workforce.
During the seminar, RBM director of pension and insurance supervision Kaluso Chihana underscored the urgency of expanding pension coverage.
He said only 13 577 people are currently on pension in Malawi, a small fraction of the country’s 22 million people.
“Employees should take pension issues seriously,” said Chihana at the meeting that attracted human resources professionals, retirees and the regulator.
Continental Asset Management senior research and investment manager James Mbingwa said workers also have a role in monitoring their accounts.
He advised employees to examine pension statements beyond headline growth figures.
“Three key issues to look out for include employer contribution, member contribution and investment income,” said Mbingwa, adding that growth should be tracked against inflation.
Retirees who planned early say the transition can be smoother.
Evarista Chafulumira, who retired at 50, said engaging in business ventures helped her to sustain herself nearly two decades later.
“Nineteen years on I’m still surviving because of proper planning,” she said.
RBM data show that pension contribution arrears have quadrupled to K144.5 billion in five years from K27.5 billion in 2021, highlighting employers continued remittance defaults and growing risks of workers’ getting little retirement packages.
The data, contained in the Financial Stability Report, show that at K144.5 billion, the arrears represent 41 percent of the K352 billion contribution between June and December 2025 and two percent of the total pension assets recorded at K8.4 trillion.
