The website of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) has literally exploded in the last two weeks. Everyone wanted to check how much pension savings they collected over the years of work and, most importantly, what sum is allowed to be withdrawn. The authorities finally approved the Rules for lump-sum pension payments. Now Kazakh citizens only need to follow simple instructions and decide where to spend their money.
One of those who received information about their savings is Zhenis Yermukanov. It is possible that this year he and his family will celebrate a housewarming party. Zhenis plans to add pension savings that are above the sufficiency threshold to the down payment and purchase an apartment.
“This is a very great opportunity for those who always wanted to buy an apartment. I am happy that my threshold level is sufficient to cover almost half of the down payment for the mortgage. Thus, I became closer to my goal of buying an apartment,” said Zhenis.
Having opened an account using the Housing Construction Savings Bank application, Kazakh citizens should apply to use of their savings on the enpf-otbasy.kz website. This is how the platform looks like, experts of “Otbasy Bank” and UAPF worked on it together throughout the last month. The service has been available to all users since last Saturday. The bankers also explained the rule, which had previously caused widespread discussion online – an apartment bought with the help of their “pension” cannot be sold within five years. It turned out that this criterion will not work for everyone.
“They will only apply to mortgage loans that were taken after the introduction of the rules. Why? This is primarily to prevent a large increase in real estate prices. See: a person gets a mortgage with lump-sum pension payments, then a month later he pays off early, and after another two days he sells it at a higher price, because there is demand from other recipients. That is why this rule was introduced,” explained Lyazzat Ibragimova, Chairperson of the “Otbasy Bank”.
In addition, lump-sum pension payments can be used an unlimited number of times. To date, Kazakh citizens have already opened more than 60,000 special accounts in the “Otbasy Bank” to withdraw their pension savings. Moreover, according to the organizers, it will be possible to do this in other financial institutions, such as second-tier banks. “Halyk Bank” expressed a desire to take part by making an official statement.
“Citizens are given the opportunity to choose themselves the bank where they already have a mortgage or through the “Otbasy Bank”. The main thing is a customer convenience, we welcome that,” added Ibragimova.
However, only the “Otbasy Bank” will provide the withdrawal of money for treatment. The rules for their use have not been approved yet. They are being discussed at the relevant department. Lyazzat Ibragimova said that the mechanism will be explained this week.
