DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2020) The Dubai International Financial Centre, DIFC, today announced the appointment of the members of the Supervisory Board of its newly launched DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Scheme, DEWS, which will assist the centre's DIFC employees in securing their financial future.
Introduced from 1st February 2020, DEWS is a progressive end-of-service benefits plan aimed at restructuring the current end-of-service gratuity scheme into a funded and professionally managed contribution savings plan. The initiative also offers employees the ability to make voluntary savings into DEWS.
The DEWS Supervisory Board will oversee the governance and commercial aspects of the scheme that are not subject to regulatory supervision, and ensure the interests of all employers and employees based at the DIFC are protected. The Dubai Financial Services Authority will supervise the regulatory aspects of the master trustee and the scheme administrator’s duties.
The first DEWS Supervisory Board will consist of Hamed Kazim as the Independent Chair, Jacques Visser and Madeya AlKtebi as the DIFC Authority, DIFCA, representatives, Thenji Moyo as the employee representative, and Gordon Barr as the employer representative.
As part of the nomination process for both employee and employer representatives, the DIFCA received more than 200 nominations, which were then narrowed down to 21 highly qualified and experienced individuals. The final shortlist was then voted for by the DIFC community, which ultimately led to the final appointment of the board members.
Employers based at the DIFC have until 31st March 2020, to enrol into a qualifying scheme, which includes the best-in-class default Qualifying Scheme, DEWS.
Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Authority, said, "We take great pride in spearheading the region's first employee savings scheme, supporting employees at the DIFC in securing their financial future. We have been overwhelmed with nominations for the DEWS Supervisory Board, resulting in several accomplished and experienced members who share our core values of transparency and integrity."
"The new DEWS Supervisory Board should reassure employers and employees at the DIFC that we have an unwavering commitment to protecting their finances and delivering returns," added Amiri.
DEWS will offer a low-cost investment platform for receiving and managing mandatory employer end-of-service contributions on behalf of the employees and any added voluntary savings by employees, including cash or cash equivalent options for those members who do not want to take investment risks with their contributions.
