Minister Musasizi argues URBRA to Deliver Pension Reforms, Support Tenfold Growth Strategy

By Wilfred Arinda Nshekantebirwe

Finance Minister Hon. Henry Musasizi has directed the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) to ensure the successful implementation and effective regulation of the new Public Service Pension Scheme, saying it will play a critical role in strengthening the country’s retirement benefits sector and supporting Uganda’s economic transformation.

Speaking during a meeting with the URBRA Board and Management at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Musasizi said the retirement benefits sector, whose assets have grown to approximately UGX 36 trillion, should increasingly support the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy by channeling long-term savings into productive sectors of the economy.

He emphasized that retirement savings represent “patient capital” capable of financing strategic investments in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism and other key sectors that can accelerate economic growth.

“The retirement benefits sector has become a significant pillar of Uganda’s financial system. These savings must be managed prudently and invested in productive sectors that will drive sustainable economic growth while safeguarding contributors’ interests,” Musasizi said.

The minister also tasked URBRA with intensifying stakeholder engagement to encourage voluntary retirement savings, noting that expanding pension coverage beyond the formal workforce remains essential for enhancing financial security among Ugandans.

Musasizi said successful implementation of the new Public Service Pension Scheme would strengthen confidence in the retirement benefits sector and contribute to its long-term sustainability.

The meeting was attended by the URBRA Board, led by Chairman Henry Balwanyi Magino, and the Authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Martin Anthony Nsubuga.

During the meeting, Balwanyi briefed the minister on URBRA’s newly launched Strategic Plan (2025/26–2029/30), which is anchored on the theme, “Harnessing Retirement Savings for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation.”

He said the strategy aligns with the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy by positioning retirement savings as a key source of domestic capital for national development.

“Achieving the Tenfold Growth Strategy requires a substantial increase in domestic savings, and retirement savings will remain central to that ambition,” Balwanyi said.

He added that every contribution made towards retirement not only secures the future of individual workers but also creates the long-term capital needed to finance Uganda’s development agenda.

“Every shilling saved for retirement is not only securing the future of a Ugandan worker, it is also building the capital that finances Uganda’s future,” he said.

Balwanyi noted that a stronger pensions sector would translate into higher domestic savings, deeper capital markets, increased investment, more employment opportunities and faster economic growth.

The meeting forms part of Musasizi’s ongoing engagements with agencies under the Ministry of Finance aimed at strengthening public institutions and aligning them with the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand Uganda’s economy tenfold through increased investment, value addition and private sector-led growth.

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