The global pensions shift and why SA needs to be a part of it

According to former UK Minister of State for Pensions, Guy Opperman, one truth is unavoidable: retirement systems around the world are heading for an era of deep technological and cultural transformation – and South Africa is no exception. 

MoneyMarketing editor Sandy Welch spoke to him recently when he was in South Africa as a representative of Keystone, a pension administration platform that delivers Defined Contribution pensions and long-term savings solutions. Opperman sees his role as advisory; governments and regulators approach him precisely because they want to understand how other nations have navigated reforms. He recounts how a meeting at an IRFA conference in September 2025 in Cape Town led to deeper discussions with multiple local organisations about potential auto-enrolment pathways, national schemes, and the need for institutions to ensure universal coverage.

Opperman explains that one global lesson stands above all: the shift from Defined Benefit (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) works – if implemented well. He cites Australia as the “golden example”, where a 1990s DB system has become a powerhouse of DC super funds capable of shaping national infrastructure and long-term prosperity. A system that began in 1992 with no DC savings has grown into a AU$4.5tn, which is approximately US$3.2tn. One DC Superfund alone – the Aussie Super – has AU$387bn under management. They are now the driving force funding airports, key-worker housing and major infrastructure. “Your savings work for you – and for your country,” he says. “That’s the promised land.” At its core, Opperman believes the transition to DC is not just about individual savings, but about nation-building.

Opperman says: “There’s clearly a market for new products and upgrades in South Africa,” he says. “The appetite for change is enormous.” But getting there is a political and cultural journey. Convincing individuals to take responsibility for long-term saving, especially when cash is tight, is difficult. Convincing governments to implement reforms whose benefits will only be felt a decade later, is even harder. Yet Opperman insists the payoff is transformative: a nation of savers whose pooled capital finances renewable energy, infrastructure and economic renewal. He points to pension-fund ownership of UK wind farms as the perfect “win-win”.

The trigger, he argues, is the coming wave of automatic enrolment. “The SA government will go ahead with auto-enrolment, there’s no doubt in my mind. The question is when, and in what shape,” he says, pointing to the Irish model as a template worth emulating.

In countries that have already embraced it, from United Kingdom to Ireland, auto-enrolment has forced providers to scale at extraordinary speed. Opperman points to Smart Pension, which runs on the Keystone platform and manages £9bn across roughly 100 000 employers: “That’s a huge payment run. Legacy providers simply couldn’t cope with that volume. They cannot take on mass new customers with their current tech.” Success, he emphasises, hinges on modern technology. The future will belong to those able to modernise at pace. “So many traditional DB and DC providers operate on very old platform systems,” he says. The opportunity, however, is obvious: upgrading technology would radically improve capability, member experience, and allow employers to offer a modern suite of financial wellbeing tools – from housing support to midlife assessments and personalised nudges.

For him, it’s inevitable that every major corporate, in South Africa and globally, will have to overhaul its systems within the decade. Some will choose providers as advanced as Keystone, others will adopt alternatives, but all will need modern platforms capable of real-time processing, investment routing and mobile-first engagement. Without this “essential plumbing”, he warns, auto-enrolment cannot function.

For employers, the opportunity is equally significant. Modern platforms allow innovative benefits such as housing-deposit savings, rainy-day funds and midlife assessments – tools that improve retention, productivity and employee wellbeing. “These things change businesses,” he says. “They keep people working, healthy and financially confident.” 

South Africa, he believes, is at the start of this long journey. But with regulatory reform, a “South Africa-first” savings ethos and modern digital infrastructure, the country can follow the same arc others have travelled. “Every nation begins with a single step,” Opperman says. “This is yours.”