The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population has announced the preservation of state guarantees for pension savings and presented changes to the pension asset management system. Some of the new rules come into force from September 2026.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE PENSION SYSTEM
The Ministry of Labour, together with the National Bank and the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF), is modernising the social sphere, providing for a transition to a more transparent model for protecting pension savings.
The department emphasised that, in accordance with Article 217 of the Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("State Guarantee of the Safety of Pension Savings"), the state continues to guarantee the safety of mandatory pension contributions (MPC) and mandatory professional pension contributions (MPPC) in the UAPF to the amount of the sums actually contributed.
In other words, if the return on pension savings turns out to be lower than the rate of inflation or the investment does not yield the expected result, the state guarantees the return of the amount of mandatory contributions that a person has actually transferred to the UAPF.
WHICH RULES COME INTO FORCE
From September 2026, a new Law, signed on 7 July 2026, which changes the procedure for managing pension savings, comes into effect.
According to information from the ministry, the previous restriction that allowed no more than 50% of pension assets to be transferred to the trust management of private investment portfolio managers (IPMs) has been abolished. After the Law comes into force, contributors will be able to transfer up to 100% of their pension savings into management.
At the same time, for citizens who prefer a conservative approach, the National Bank remains the primary manager of pension assets.
WHAT WILL CHANGE FROM 2027
From 2027, the budget sub-programme providing for a one-off payment of the inflation differential for citizens retiring will be optimised.
As explained by the ministry, under the new conditions, responsibility for any negative difference in the management of funds by private IPMs falls on the management companies themselves. The materials also indicate that they are subject to requirements regarding the amount of their own capital — at least 1.9 billion tenge or 440,000 MCI, as well as having relevant work experience.
That is, if a private management company shows low returns and a contributor's pension savings end up being less than the guaranteed level, the company itself, rather than the state, will be obliged to compensate for this difference.
WHAT WORK IS ONGOING
The ministry reported that a working group has been established to discuss further transformation of the pension system. Various approaches are being considered, including the introduction of an insurance component, the 4+1 model, a transition to 40 years of work experience, and the Singaporean model.
The goal of the modernisation is to ensure continuous lifelong payments from the UAPF, taking into account work experience, as well as achieving a rate of replacement of lost income of at least 40% in accordance with the standards of the International Labour Organisation.
