Godongwana calls for retirement system to adapt to changing world of work

By Thapelo Molefe

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has called for South Africa’s retirement system to adapt to changing employment patterns, technology and longer lifespans, warning that traditional pension arrangements may no longer be sufficient for many workers.

Godongwana was speaking at the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS, Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and World Bank International Conference 2026 in Cape Town, where he said retirement systems needed to become more flexible and follow workers as they moved between different forms of employment.

“Can [a] retirement savings model built predominantly around traditional formal employment remain sufficient in a labour market that increasingly includes more diverse forms of work? I don’t think it can,” Godongwana said.

He said more people were moving between formal employment, self-employment, temporary and part-time work, informal employment and platform-based work.

Workers with irregular incomes and frequent changes in employment could struggle to maintain the regular contributions