New UAE savings plan aims to generate income in retirement

Second Salary programme gives customers a practical solution to achieve financial security in their golden years, National Bonds says

Customers will need to make a minimum monthly investment of Dh1,000 for at least three years to sign up for National Bonds' new savings plan. Antonie Robertson / The National

National Bonds, the Sharia-compliant savings and investment company owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, has unveiled a new savings plan that aims to generate a supplementary income for Emiratis and UAE residents during retirement.

The Second Salary programme comprises a saving phase, in which customers deposit money into National Bonds every month for a period between three and 10 years, and an income phase, which allows customers to draw an income every month, the company said on Monday.

In the second phase of the plan, customers will receive their base investment amount every month plus their accumulated profit. The profit earned will be compounded monthly to provide enhanced returns, National Bonds said.

Customers will need to make a minimum monthly investment of Dh1,000 for at least three years, it said.

“We created the Second Salary plan in response to the growing demand for ways to create a sustainable extra income for our customers,” said Mohammed Al Ali, group chief executive of National Bonds.

“As the UAE takes steps to safeguard the future of expats with long-term initiatives like the Golden Visa, residents are seeking practical solutions to create additional income streams to carry them through life’s various stages. Second Salary provides UAE residents with an affordable enabler to achieving financial security.”

The Covid-19 pandemic put personal financial issues in the spotlight, as it highlighted the importance of saving, having an emergency fund for short-term liquidity needs and having enough money for retirement.

About 45 per cent of UAE residents have not yet started saving for their retirement, a 2022 survey by insurance company Friends Provident International found.

About 44 per cent of people in the Emirates expect to retire by 55, while 63 per cent hope to before they turn 60, according to the FPI survey which polled 1,000 people.

National Bonds launched a Golden Pension Scheme last October to help private-sector foreign employees in the UAE with their financial planning.

The scheme offers employees working for registered companies a head start in retirement planning through returns offered by National Bonds.

Last March, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed also launched a savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector.

The Second Salary plan is part of a long-term programme that aims to provide the best retirement plan in the UAE, National Bonds said.

Under the plan, for example, if customers save Dh5,000 a month for 10 years, they could expect to receive a monthly income of Dh7,500 for the subsequent 10 years, National Bonds said.

Similarly, if customers save Dh5,000 a month for five years, but choose to redeem it within the next three years, they could take home a monthly amount of Dh10,020 for three years, it said.

“With complete flexibility provided to customers over the amount and tenure of the savings and salary phases, customers can devise their Second Salary plan to create the safety of a supplementary monthly income for the future,” National Bonds said.

Meanwhile, customers can also choose to redeem their Second Salary plan as a lump sum instead of monthly payments to fulfil financial goals, such as education fees, a down payment for a house or for investing, the company said.