Insights

Analysis for the UAE workplace savings market.

Regulation, product notes and market observations for fund managers, employers and administrators operating under the UAE Savings Scheme.

12 articles
APPROVED ALTERNATIVE END OF SERVICE BENEFITS SCHEMESame package,different outcome.ILLUSTRATIVE. AED 30,000 MONTHLY SALARY. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS AT 5.83 PER CENT OF BASIC.NO INVESTMENT RETURNS, NO FEES. BASIC SALARY UNCHANGED FOR 60 MONTHS.50%BASICBASIC AED 15,000ALLOWANCESSCHEME CONTRIBUTIONSAED 060%BASICBASIC AED 18,000ALLOWANCESSCHEME CONTRIBUTIONSAED 0
OperationsEmployers4 min read

Basic salary and end of service benefits in the UAE: why the split matters

Basic salary sets the cost of every monthly contribution. On the same salary, the split changes what goes in.

14 October 2026

The route in: how Abu Dhabi financial institutions can enter the UAE alternative end of service benefits market
MarketFund Managers9 min read

How can Abu Dhabi financial institutions enter the UAE alternative end of service benefits market?

For Abu Dhabi banks, insurers and asset managers, the main way into the UAE alternative end of service benefits market is to offer an approved savings scheme as fund manager under the federal Savings Scheme.

28 September 2026

Cohlay
ReferenceAll5 min read

What is a workplace savings platform?

A plain-language explanation of what a workplace savings platform does: contributions, reconciliation, fund pricing, member portfolios, withdrawals, reporting, and how it connects to UAE end-of-service benefits and gratuity.

22 September 2026

Today's menu: the coffee order guide to a workplace savings platform in the UAE, listing eight coffee orders from the usual to the takeaway cup
InfrastructureFund Managers7 min read

The coffee order guide to a workplace savings platform in the UAE

Eight coffee orders, one workplace savings platform. What a DIFC cafe at 8.15am can teach you about running gratuity properly.

22 September 2026

A balance is a fact.Contributions the member controls, up to 25% of salary.Goals alongside. A reason to keep going.Voluntary pot · memberAED 48,210Growth Portfolio · units 3,904.12Voluntary pot · memberAED 48,210Growth Portfolio · units 3,904.12Monthly contribution, flexibleup to 25% of salaryAED 500 a month · 6% of salaryGoals · funded from the voluntary potDeposittarget Mar 202961% fundedSchool feestarget Sep 203134% fundedBusiness back hometarget 203518% fundedDeposit on track for Mar 2029 at AED 500 a monthBuilt for what members are saving for.cohlay.com
ProductAll4 min read

Members are saving for something specific. Build accordingly.

Nobody saves for a balance. What the UAE Savings Scheme lets a member do with their own contributions, and what a platform has to hold to make a goal real rather than displayed.

14 September 2026

The law sets the floor.The voluntary scheme builds above it.Same obligation. Funded form.FLOOR · Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 202121 days of basic pay a year, then 30. Owed on termination.Accrued. Unfunded. On the balance sheet.Monthly contributions,funded and invested+ investment returnsCEILING · Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023A funded, visible workplace savings arrangement.Workplace savings infrastructure for the UAE Savings Scheme.cohlay.com
RegulationAll5 min read

UAE labour law and end-of-service benefits: the floor, not the ceiling

Labour law sets the floor for end-of-service benefits. It does not set the ceiling. What the statutory obligation is, what the voluntary scheme changes, and the question employers should actually be asking.

11 September 2026

Your brand. Your clients. Your licence.The back office underneath, already built.Four things to check before you sign.your bank's brand hereMember portalAED 48,210.00Employer onboardingContribution processingBank reconciliationInvestment processingMember portfoliosWithdrawalsReporting and complianceUAE-hosted infrastructure · data in countryData residencyOperational depthIntegration surfaceCommercial modelWhite-label infrastructure for UAE workplace savings.cohlay.com
MarketFund Managers4 min read

White-label workplace savings administration: what banks should look for

Banks with a licence, a fund range and corporate client relationships have the makings of a scheme except the infrastructure underneath it. What white-label platform provision covers, why now, and the four things to check.

10 September 2026

Twenty-six terms, one per letter. Defined once.DEWSMandatory in DIFC since February 2020.Legacy balanceGratuity earned before enrolment. Stays with the employer.Capital guarantee portfolioThe option that protects contributed capital.ReconciliationUnmatched cash is held, not priced.Fund administratorPrices the fund. Not the same as the scheme administrator.ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZWorkplace savings infrastructure, built for the UAE.cohlay.com
ReferenceAll8 min read

UAE workplace savings, A to Z

One term per letter, A to Z. The vocabulary of UAE workplace savings, defined once.

10 September 2026

Adapt a platform to the UAE, and the edges break.Build it here, and the edges are the foundation.Six participants. One ledger. Data in country.Adapted from elsewhereBuilt in the UAEFund managersFund administratorsArabic as translationCustodiansWPS filesEmployersEmployeesAED settlementMoHREFund managersFund administratorsCustodiansEmployersEmployeesMoHREAEDArabic + EnglishWPS filesData in countryUAE-hosted. DIFC-based. Sovereign-ready.cohlay.com
InfrastructureFund Managers6 min read

Building a workplace savings platform for the UAE

A platform built for the UAE starts from UAE facts: WPS files, AED settlement, Arabic and English of equal weight, data in country. What that means in practice, and the questions that predict whether a platform survives contact with the market.

19 August 2026

Retail: one member at a time. Each one paid for.Workplace: one employer, a cohort, every month.Same fund. Different cost of assets.Retail acquisitionWorkplace distributionEmployerassets under managementassets under managementMonth 1Month 3Month 6Workplace savings infrastructure for fund managers.cohlay.com
MarketFund Managers6 min read

Fund managers spent a decade chasing retail. In the UAE, the next decade is workplace.

Retail acquisition is expensive and slow to compound. Workplace delivers cohorts through one employer relationship, on a monthly cycle, inside a regulated framework. What the channel gives a fund manager, and what it asks in return.

15 August 2026

Nine stages. Every month, per employer, per member.The file says AED 4,000 more than the bank received. Nothing prices.Resolved before the NAV run. The rest of the month runs.Employer onboardingContribution processingBank reconciliationFund pricing & NAVTrade executionMember portfoliosWithdrawalsReporting & complianceOperations layerDay 1Day 12unmatched AED 4,000Day 25reporting deliveredBuilt for the workplace lifecycle as it actually runs.cohlay.com
OperationsFund Managers7 min read

What the UAE Savings Scheme asks of a fund manager's operations

The UAE Savings Scheme is not a fund with a new channel attached. It is a monthly administrative cycle that retail and private wealth back offices were not built for. What it involves, where it breaks, and what to ask.

10 August 2026

Today, gratuity sits on the employer's books. Unfunded. Uninvested.Under the Savings Scheme, contributions leave every month.Ring-fenced. Invested. It follows the employee.Employer balance sheetAccrued gratuity liability21 days / yr, then 30 days / yrPre-enrolment balance stays here, preservedNew accrual stops. It is funded instead.Ring-fenced fund5.83% of basic, 8.33% after 5 years+ investment returnsWorkplace savings infrastructure for the UAE Savings Scheme.cohlay.com
RegulationEmployers5 min read

What is the Alternative End of Service Benefits Scheme in the UAE?

A voluntary federal scheme that moves end-of-service gratuity off the employer's balance sheet and into a ring-fenced, invested fund. Who can join, what it costs, and what it doesn't wipe out.

3 August 2026