URBRA wants informal pension plans for regions

Mr Joel Egwal speaking at a workshop aimed at educating members of the informal sector on the benefits of saving for retirement held in Lira District last week. Courtesey photo

What you need to know:

  • Situation. About 95 per cent of the 63 informal plans in the country operate only in Kampala.

Lira.

Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) has called for the formation of informal sector pension plans for majority of Ugandans.

URBRA chief executive officer David Nyakundi Bonyi made the call last week in Lira District while speaking to members of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) in a workshop aimed at educating members of the informal sector on the benefits of saving for retirement.

Mr Nyakundi said that about 95 per cent of the 63 informal plans in the country operate in Kampala.

He called for the formation of regional schemes to support those living and working out of the city.

Available statistics indicate that a large number of working Ugandans retire at the age of 60 and live for more than 20 years thereafter; making a case for managing old age poverty.

Some members expressed distrust in the retirements saving schemes noting the difficulty of accessing their money even at the right time.

Mr Nyakundi said URBRA’s key mandate remains to regulate and supervise these schemes to ensure that the members are able to get their benefits when they are due.

Mr July Joel Egwal, an accountant at Dokolo District administration, called for education on benefits for saving for retirements to be extended to higher institutions of learning for behavioral change and better implementation.

The PSFU director of policy advocacy Mr Moses Ogwal commented on the current state of associations in Lira District and said they are eligible for voluntary schemes by NSSF and others for employer, individual and umbrella schemes and funds. He pledged that PSFU would continue to work with URBRA to extend retirement education to Uganda’s informal sector accross the country.