NSSF cash: Shs309b paid out in a month
A teller counts money in a bank. Data from NSSF shows that more than 1,600 claims worth Shs38.3 billion are still being processed and payment would be made as soon as possible. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- The numbers indicate a slowdown in the rush by eligible contributors seeking the cash.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) says Shs309.6 billion has so far been paid out to claimants of mid-term benefits, a month since the payments started.
As of April 6, a total of 17,812 applications had been received, 10,685 submitted manually, and 7,127 via online platforms.
Mr Richard Byarugaba, the NSSF managing director, said more than 82 percent of the number had been paid as of April 6, while an extra Shs16.7 billion was due to be paid to 959 claimants yesterday.
Data from the fund further shows that more than 1,600 claims worth Shs38.3 billion are still being processed, and payment would be made as soon as possible. The fund has since adapted to paying daily, as opposed to earlier communication of paying out Shs50 billion weekly.
NSSF earmarked Shs1 trillion for payment of the mid-term benefits under Section 20(A) of the NSSF Amendment Act 2021, which grants members who are 45 years and have contributed for 10 years, access to 20 percent of their accrued benefits. A person with disability, who is 40 years and has contributed for 10 years, can access half of their benefits.
The current numbers indicate a slowdown in the rush by eligible contributors seeking the cash. In just 12 working days after applications opened on March 7, a total of 14,690 claimants had applied. The current numbers, therefore, mean 0nly 3,122 have applied within the same number of days.
The total number of eligible members as of March 1 stands at 41,000, whose 20 percent benefits add up to Shs793 billion.
The process has been characterised by mixed experiences, with those who yet to be paid decrying the slow processes.
A source, who preferred anonymity, said they have been chasing their payment since the process started last month.
“Recently, I applied for my NSSF midterm benefits and the money was sent to my bank but it bounced. When I asked the bank why it had bounced, they told me it was due to a missing detail in my information. The bank also said the money was sent back to the NSSF account. However, when I check my NSSF balance, it still reflects the deduction,” the source said.
“I appealed to NSSF to correct the error and have my money rewired. NSSF said it was a technical issue and they would correct it within a few days. The days have now extended to weeks .”
However, Mr Byarugaba said such money must be in a suspense account. He urged the clients to be patient as the Fund works to rectify the issues..
To speed up claims processing, NSSF adopted special technology as the Fund aims to input more than 1,000 claims daily, in addition to the 200 from the manual process.
But for Ms Nancy Akite, it was a pleasant surprise how quickly her claim was processed and her money remitted to her bank.
“I was very impressed with them…mine took 15 working days and you know they give you a maximum of 45 working days that is if everything is in order. The money that I calculated is exactly what I got,” she said
Ms Akite, whose National ID details differ from some of the NSSF details, had to submit a statutory declaration explaining the variance. She applied online and was paid ahead of the date she had indicated for her payment to be issued.
Another beneficiary, who preferred anonymity, said: “I know so many people who have gotten their money, but for manual documentation, they will take some time to verify the details, considering cases of ineligible or difficult to read handwritings. There are also people who have debts and they do not want their creditors to know.”
Push for amendment
The guidelines operationalising mid-term clauses in the law as issued by Gender minister Betty Amongi clarified 10 years in the law to mean 120 contributions.
This consequently cut off more than 9,000 savers who have been members for 10 years, but their contributions do not add up to 120. Workers unions have since started to push for another amendment to accommodate the thousands.
