NSSF to offer pension administration courses

By Edward Kayiwa

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will start offering pension administration courses by 2017, once the new law governing the pension sector comes in effect.

According to the deputy managing director, Geraldine Ssali, the fund has already applied for an operating license from the National Council for Higher Education, to enable it run a “point of excellence” in Kampala.

“We already have a pool of knowledge and experience and would like to pass this on to professionals in and outside the pensions sector,” Ssali said.

She said this will be the first of its kind in the East African region that specifically offers pension administration courses.

This was during the launch of a career expo at Makerere University recently, aimed at inculcating saving and entrepreneurial skills among university students.

The NSSF Marketing Manager, Edgar Birungi, said the center of excellence will prioritise professionals from the East African region, in order to fill any human resource gaps before looking at the rest of the continent. He however did not give details of course specifications.

“This is because details such as course content, duration and fees are still being structured and will be communicated later,” he said.

During the reading of the 2014/2015 budget, former Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka announced that the enactment of Retirements Benefits Sector Liberalization Bill would be fast tracked to provide for liberalization of the retirement benefits sector.

Kiwanuka said the liberalisation would provide fair competition among licensed retirement benefits schemes and also provide innovation of new retirement products and services.

Once enacted, all employees in the formal and informal sector will be required to make contributions to the existing National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and other licensed pension schemes of their choice.

This, according to the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA), is expected to spur massive growth in employee contributions every year.

However, URBRA also estimates that out of the 30,000 firms eligible for pensions contributions, only 9,000 have proven to be compliant to date, rendering 70 % of the Fund’s collection base inactive.

The Fund’s net collection potential based on full compliance by all eligible employers is estimated at sh10.8 trillion (US$4.3b) per year, spiraling fears about the industry’s ability to absorb new funds.

“Once the human resource question is answered, there will be no fear of the industry’s ability to keep our savers’ money safe,” Sali said.