New retirement age for Standard Bank bosses

The Standard Bank Group has increased its executive retirement age from 60 to 63 years, which is in line with the company’s non-executive retirement age.

South Africa’s largest bank by assets under management said that increasing the normal retirement age for its executives forms part of its commitment to attracting and retaining top-tier talent.

This change will take effect on 1 January 2026.  All other employees’ normal retirement age remains unchanged at 63 as well.

The revised executive retirement age aligns Standard Bank with prevailing practices across the financial services industry, ensuring that the bank remains competitive in the global and local talent market.

“It reflects the evolving nature of executive leadership and the increasing value of experience, continuity, and institutional knowledge in driving long-term growth and innovation,” said the bank.

“This change also ensures that Standard Bank is not an outlier in a highly competitive market for key talent.”

The bank noted that it constantly monitors local and international trends that impact the working world. One trend is a longer working life, as people are healthier, energetic and engaged for far longer.

It added that it has diverse talent and a strong leadership succession pipeline, giving it a competitive advantage in meeting its financial targets and achieving its growth targets.

The current Group CEO, Sim Tshabalala, is 57 years old, and the move will ensure that he no longer has to retire from the group in just over two years.

Although the bank said it has a strong leadership succession pipeline, former Deputy CEO Kenny Fihla left the group earlier this year to take the top job at Absa.

After Fihla also left his role as Standard Bank South Africa CEO, Tshabalala took over the local operations on top of his broader group responsibilities on an interim basis.