Dubai: Over 25,000 expat employees enrol for govt savings scheme

More than 1,500 employers and 25,000 employees have enrolled in the Dubai government scheme DEWS, said a senior official.

The scheme was conceptualised after the Dubai International Financial Centre Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) plan and the enrolment of employees will take place in phases, starting July 1, 2022.

Launched in March 2022, the scheme targets expatriates in Dubai government entities in the first stage, with the scope of expanding its implementation in later stages. It’s aimed at attracting and retaining talent by providing an integrated system that offers various savings opportunities.

Jacques Visser, Chief Legal Officer of DIFC Authority, said employees are incredibly engaged with the plan as over 90 per cent of members take an active interest in logging into the DEWS portal/mobile app and benefitting from the visibility and control that the plan provides in relation to end-of-service benefits.

A Zurich Workplace Solutions survey – 2021 revealed that 75 per cent of employees felt that DEWS had positively or very positively impacted the transparency around their end-of-service benefits, and 80 per cent of employees felt that DEWS had had a positive or very positive impact on their end-of-service benefit protection.

Global professional services provider Equiom will act as the master trustee of the scheme and the independent legal owner of contributions made by employers, while Zurich Workplace Solutions will support employers and employees through the administration and management of the plan. Investment services provider Mercer will provide investment advice to the master trustee of the scheme.