NOTES FROM THE WILD
Pension coverage in Papua New Guinea runs at 3 per cent.
Karishma Huda, Eseta Nadakuitavuki and Philip O'Keefe published that in April 2026. Kiribati runs at 15 per cent, Solomon Islands 16, Samoa 25. Informal work, they write, particularly among women, leaves most people outside these schemes altogether. So, the default contribution rate everybody argues about is a conversation for three people in every hundred.
I am one of the three, and so is anyone reading this off a payslip. PNG law takes 6 per cent out of a pay cheque and adds 8.4 per cent from the employer. I signed that form in my twenties and left the rate where payroll found it.
The second 3 per cent is what it earns. Jezreel Kassam and Stephen Howes put Nasfund at 3.1 per cent a year after inflation across 2008 to 2024 and Nambawan Super at 2.5, against Australia's 3.5. So, super grows by about three toea in the kina each year in real terms, on a rate payroll picked for you, inside a system most of the country stands outside of.
So, super grows by about three toea in the kina each year in real terms…
Grace sells cooked kaukau and buns from a table near the wharf at Alotau and clears about K600 in a good week. Her takings arrive whole, with the 8.4 per cent and the 6 per cent both belonging to a job that runs a payroll. She keeps K50 a week in a tin for the slow season, which the tin pays nothing on. What the 3 per cent costs her is the argument itself, because every article about contribution rates is written for somebody with a payslip.
So, my question this Saturday. What will your old age run on? Write to me and I will carry the answers into tomorrow and next week.
TOMORROW
The things I believed about money at 25, and which of them survived
Best
Amanda
P.S. What’s your view on today’s newsletter? Did I miss something out that you’d like to share? Write to me, [email protected]. I may not get back to you, but I will try to read what you send in.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Wild Money is general information only, drawn from my own experience and research. It isn't financial advice, and nothing in it is a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or manage money in any particular way. What worked for me won't necessarily suit you. Please seek advice from a licensed financial adviser before making decisions about your own money.