NSSF pays sh230b to 15,000 members

Jun 17, 2016

In the last 30 years, the Fund has paid over sh1.1 trillion to over 250,000 members

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has paid 15,000 members benefits this financial year. NSSF paid a total of sh230bn to the beneficiaries.

NSSF Managing Director, Richard Byarugaba said the payments to members have increased by 60% from sh186bn in the 2014/15 financial year. In the 2014/15 financial year 14,482 members got their benefits from the Fund.

Byarugaba explained that there was an increase in benefits because of the systematic and continuous improvement of the Funds' processes, driven by focus on automation.

"Paying benefits is core to NSSF's mandate as a social security institution," he said. "This is an area where we have recorded one of our significant success stories. The amount of money we pay out to qualifying members has consistently increased year-on-year over the last six years."

In the last 30 years, the Fund has paid over sh1.1 trillion to over 250,000 members.

"Of the total paid, about sh900b (80%) has gone to members in the last six years, further underlying the recent progress the Fund has made," Byarugaba said. 

New Vision has also learnt that the turnaround time, the period it takes to pay benefits has reduced from 120 days five years ago to an average of 9 days this year, with a target to pay within five days, and even less for the age benefit by 2017.

"Some people think that those who save with NSSF actually never get to withdraw their money because they die before they get it. Our figures debunk the myth. The current benefits data also shows that 97 per cent of benefits are paid to living members and not their next of kin," Byarugaba said.

To inspire a savings culture among Ugandans as well as starting a national dialogue on the value of mobilisation of domestic savings, NSSF has also launched a "Friends with Benefits" campaign.

In the campaign, people who have received their retirement benefits and invested them in thriving projects that have changed their lives and those of their families and communities are called upon to showcase them.

The beneficiary with the best story will get a cash prize of about sh30m.

Byarugaba urged the public to save for their retirement with NSSF. With total assets worth sh6.2 trillion, NSSF has a total membership of about 1.7 million contributors with more than 780,000 actively contributing every month.

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