The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) Pensioners Advocacy group has demanded an urgent upward review of the monthly payouts received by NSSA pensioners, reported NewZimbabwe.com.
Addressing the Public Service Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Monday NSSA Pensioners Advocacy representative, Denford Mangwiro, revealed the dire situation facing NSSA pensioners, who are struggling to make ends meet with the meagre monthly stipend.
He said the current US$50 payout is simply not adequate to meet the rising costs of living and provide for the essential needs of pensioners. Said Mangwiro:
We have no money to go to the hospital, no money to buy food, no money even to get transport to the bank to get the little that is available at the end or beginning of the month.
What we are faced with is in a sense, a national disaster because at the end of the day, while we are suffering like this, we have the youth, we have people who are working, that will have the same challenge when they go on pension unless something changes and change drastically.
Mangwiro said pensioners’ rights are being violated, adding that NSSA management was abusing the pension fund. He said:
Pensioners are starving, their legal dependents are failing to access reasonable health services and their dependents are being chased away from school and failing to pay school fees which is contrary to Section 75 of the Constitution- the right to Education and Section 76, the Right to health care. Pensioners have been denied their right to decent accommodation too.
In response to the demands made by the NSSA Pensioners Advocacy group, the Public Service Secretary, Simon Masanga, acknowledged that NSSA pensioners are facing significant financial challenges, but he argued that NSSA is not solely responsible for their predicament.
He stated that NSSA has been the only government entity that has been able to continue providing support and coverage to retirees, as most other social security schemes have collapsed. He told the Parliamentary committee:
There have been many occupational pension funds and some have folded and at some parastatal where l used to be a board member, the pension fund is now nowhere to be seen.
I am happy that NSSA continues to swim and we continue fighting for the situation to improve the pension payout.
In further defence of NSSA’s pension payout levels, the authority’s Acting General Manager, Charles Shava, provided additional context to the parliamentary committee.
Shava acknowledged that NSSA had previously paid a minimum pension of up to US$100 per month to its beneficiaries.
However, this figure had subsequently fallen to around US$30 per month, before being increased to the current US$50 per month payout. Said Shava:
Our pensioners are demanding immediate pension relief, for the past two years, we have been revising our payouts from January 2022 to about September 2023 every month taking into account the inflation that was going on. We only review our payouts upwards once we feel we have enough resources.
Shava also explained to the Parliamentary committee how the NSSA pension scheme works. He said:
When the NSSA pension scheme was designed, it was done in such a way it would coexist with other pension schemes. It is not the ultimate pension.
NSSA contributions are very small compared to other deductions on one’s pay slip. You can only get an NSSA pension if you already have an occupational pension which goes for 20 percent.
We only deduct 9% as NSSA, 4,5% from the employer and the other half from the employee on the cap which is currently US$700.
It is called a Partially Funded Pay As You Go Scheme; meaning we pay benefits from the amount we collect every month.
We also pay our pensioners from investments’ income, meaning we can increase our payouts if we have a surplus.
Addressing the allegations of abuse and mismanagement of pension funds by NSSA’s management, Shava said the authority takes such claims very seriously.
He told the parliamentary committee that some individuals have been prosecuted, and in certain cases, they have been sentenced to serve jail time for their involvement in corrupt practices.
Shava stated that the authority maintains a “no-nonsense approach” when it comes to such allegations.
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