NSSF monthly savings hit Shs58b
NSSF acting managing director Geraldine Busuulwa (R), joined by head of commercial Stevens Mwanje to launch the self-service customer feedback kiosk in Kampala on Monday. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
Factor. Growth attributed to change of business model that the Fund has adapted over the years.
Kampala.
Workers’ savings to National Social Security Fund (NSSF) have now hit Shs58 billion per month, up from Shs46.5 billion the previous year.
The Fund says the figures imply a 84 per cent compliance rate although it is looking at increasing that to 95 per cent by close of the year.
According to the NSSF acting Managing Director, Ms Geraldine Ssali Busuulwa, the jump from 49 per cent in 2009, then to 72 per cent by close of 2012 and now 84 per cent is attributed to change of business model that the Fund has adapted over the last three years.
Speaking at the second annual Customer Connect Week on Monday, Ms Busuulwa said: “Our relationship model is working really well. Instead of threats and punishment, we talk and agree with the companies on how to help comply with their NSSF obligations.”
She continued: “And as a result we now have 83 per cent compliance, meaning that most of the private sector is now contributing to the Fund.”
NSSF data shows that as a result of compliance, the Fund now collects Shs58 billion every month, up from Shs46.5 billion the previous year and Shs24.5 billion in 2010.
The compliance model previously used was based on enforcement (punishment) while the current relationship model is about encouraging employers to comply.
The increase rate in compliance levels (workers savings) comes at the heels of recent announcement by the Fund that it had recorded a 26.5 per cent increase in operating profit for half year ending December 31, 2013 as a result of better returns on its investments and improved cost management. The profit for the half year also increased to Shs156 billion from Shs123 billion during the same period in the Financial Year 2012/13.
All these, according to Ms Busuulwa, is an indication of good return on memb,ers savings.
Member details and updates will also be provided. The Fund will also hold demonstrations to contributors on how to access their statements online and contribution balances via SMS.
In an interview, the Makerere University Professor, Augustus Nuwagaba, said the NSSF move to interact with its customers is a public relation exercise that will not only pay off in the long run but also bring out its human side of the business.
About the customer connect week and what it intends to achieve
According to the management, the Fund introduced the Customer Connect Week in order to offer extra useful services to its members like offering professional advice to enable them get the best out of their savings over the long term.
The ongoing Customer Connect Week, that runs from May 19 to 23, will see members offered free investment and financial advisory services.
Member details and updates will also be provided. The Fund will also hold demonstrations to contributors on how to access their statements online and contribution balances via SMS.
NSSF assets
As at March 31, 2014, the Fund’s assets stood at Shs4trillion.
Over 80 percent of the Fund’s total investments are in fixed income securities, while the rest is held in real estate and equities – both private and public listed companies such as Umeme, Stanbic Bank, Housing Finance Bank, and Safaricom, among others.
