On 28 February 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that special allowances will be included in the scope of basic wages and shall therefore be subject to Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions. This issue has been subject to extensive […]
In March 2019, the government of China released social insurance policies that reduced the employers’ contribution to basic pension insurance from 20% of an employee’s salary down to 16%. This change takes effect 1 May 2019. China has one of […]
The government of Hong Kong passed a law increasing the maximum tax-deductible limit for voluntary contributions to Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF). The tax-deductible limit was raised from HKD 36,000 to HKD 60,000 per year per person. This legislation, the Inland […]
Currently, employers and employees in companies with at least three employees are mandated to contribute a combined 18 percent of pay to a Retirement Savings Account (10 percent and 8 percent, respectively). The Nigerian Pension Reform Act of 2014 introduced […]
A mandatory pension plan referred to as the “Accumulated Pension System” (APS), was introduced on 1 January 2019, for workers under age 40. Previously, pension plans for those living in Georgia and reaching retirement age were limited to a public […]
The government of Mali has introduced a bill for universal health insurance, known as Regime d’Assurance Maladie Universelle, or RAMU. RAMU aims to provide the entire Malian population with a single health insurance plan, in accordance with Article 17 of […]
Amendments are in progress to the Enforcement Decree of the Insurance Business Act and the Regulation on the Supervision of Insurance Business to capture and encourage online insurance exchange platforms, streamlining processes and reducing costs for individuals and groups seeking […]
As of 1 January 2019, pension coverage has been extended to the self-employed and liberal professions through new supplementary pension schemes. Article 8 of the new pension reform law has, since 21 August 2018, reduced the maximum period of employment […]
Effective 1 January 2019, the Bahrain government passed a new Value Added Tax (VAT) law under Royal Decree No. 48 of 2018. This introduced a VAT at a 5 percent standard rate on goods and services that are not exempt […]
Foreign workers employed in Vietnam for one year or more and for at least 15 days per month are subject to compulsory participation in social security effective 1 December 2018. Previously, employers were not required to enroll foreign employees. Employers […]