As communicated by email in October 2019, the interest rate for the 3 mortgage schemes were increased as follows to improve the pension benefits but at the same time giving members the opportunity to acquire houses.
| Mortgage scheme | Interest rate prior to October 2019 | Interest rate from October 2019 |
| ZEIPF Inhouse Scheme | 8% | 15% |
| ZEIPF/NMB Scheme | 10.5% | 15%. |
| ZEIPF/Stanbic Scheme | 10.5% | 18% |
With effect from 01 October 2019, the Board of Trustees for ZEIPF made the following changes to the repayment period and formula for calculating the mortgage entitlements:
- Repayment period for new loans: Has been increased from 10 years to a maximum of period to retirement or 20 years. This will reduce the monthly installment and help members to plan for their retirement.
- Formula for mortgage entitlement: The mortgage entitlements have been increased by multiplying with a factor of 20 from 10 as below:
- Previous formula=Total monthly pension contributions (employer plus employee) x 12 x 10
- New formula=Total monthly pension contributions (employer plus employee) x 12 x 20
The new formula will help members acquire houses since the entitlements have increased significantly.
We would want to underscore that members will access mortgage when ZEIPF has available cash or funds. Currently the funds are very low as we engage the employers to ensure the pension contributions are paid on time.
As of the 31st of December 2019, a total of 1,502 members or 25% of the Fund membership have benefited from the 3 mortgage schemes and the total value of loans given out was ZWL26m.