DIFC employee savings plan locks in $127m in assets under management in first year

The DIFC Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) Plan has $127m in assets under management as of February 1, 2021, one year after the launch.

Launched in February 2020 for Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) based employees, the DEWS Plan restructured the end-of-service (EoS) benefit system common across the region into a funded and professionally managed defined contribution plan. DEWS also offers a voluntary savings plan, allowing employees working in DIFC to help boost their savings.

Within one year, 19,182 members of the DIFC workforce from 1,187 of DIFC’s firms have been enrolled in the DEWS Plan. A substantial number of employees have also chosen to make additional voluntary contributions from their salaries into the DEWS Plan, DIFC says.

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The DEWS Plan is established as a Master Trust governed by Equiom (Isle of Man), while Zurich Workplace Solutions acts as the plan administrator and Mercer as the Investment advisor.

Members of the scheme can choose their investment option, with five different risk-graded options and a Sharia-compliant option available.

As of the end of January 2021, the majority of the DEWS Plan’s assets (75 per cent) remain invested in the Low / Moderate Growth Fund, which is the default fund of the DEWS Plan. Nearly 20 per cent of the assets are split across the other growth fund options including the Moderate Growth, Moderate/High Growth, and High Growth funds.

“DIFC is proud to have created the region’s first employee savings scheme and delighted with the high levels of uptake by our clients and workforce,” said Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority.

“The introduction of DEWS is one of many ways DIFC has contributed to the Dubai Plan 2021 by making the emirate a pivotal hub in the global economy, as well as making it a preferred place to live and work.”