adminthat you have not been registered, nor is it necessary to have a card in order to claim benefits. What is important is that one is registered with NSSA. With the cost of producing them being enormous during the hyperinflationary period, there was a time when production of cards ceased.
However, the concerns expressed by some employees that perhaps they have not been registered or that the pension contributions deducted from their wages may not have been forwarded to NSSA are valid. It may be wise, therefore, for employees who have doubts or are uncertain about this to check with NSSA what their social security number is.
If they have been registered they will have a social security number whether or not they have been given a card with the number on it.
One correspondent told the tale of how when he asked his employer for his social security number he was referred to NSSA, which was unable to find his name in its computer system. He was then given a form for his employer to fill in and the employer refused.
Others have told of how their employers have refused to fill in their retirement benefit claim form when they reached retirement age.
One might wonder why these employers refused to fill in the forms. An obvious suspicion is that they had not been forwarding the employee’s contributions to NSSA. That would be a breach of their legal obligation.
Checking your social security number is easy. All that has to be done is to visit a NSSA office with your national identity card and ask for your social security number.
Using the identity card number, NSSA can readily find one’s social security number and employment record. If you do not have a card and wish to have one, you can request for one.
When you change employment and the new employer submits the necessary employment change to NSSA, your employment record is updated. NSSA should, therefore, have a record of the years you were employed at different organisations and contributing to the pension fund. If you are not on NSSA’s national database that would indicate that you were not registered. If you do not appear to have been registered but have been having national pension contributions deducted from your wages, then you should report that to NSSA’s compliance department.
The person we referred to above who was not on NSSA’s database who was asked to take a form to his employer to complete but the employer refused to fill it in, should go back to NSSA and report this fact. Likewise the other who upon reaching retirement age approached his or her last employer to complete the employer section of the claim form only for the employer to refuse to fill it in should also report this to NSSA. It could be the employer has been deducting contributions from the employee’s wage but not remitting the money to NSSA.
If the contributor has proof of national pension contributions being deducted from his/her salary, NSSA will not allow his/her entitlement to benefits to be prejudiced by the employer’s failure to remit the money to it.
Proof, such as salary slips showing the deductions, would obviously have to be provided. NSSA’s compliance department would then approach the employer, who would be expected to explain and make good his default.
Some readers have asked for clarification on why some retired people are given lump sums and no pension, while others are given a pension but no lump sum.
The NSSA pension scheme provides for two types of retirement benefit, a once-off grant or a monthly pension for the rest of one’s life. The monthly pension is only payable to those who contributed for a minimum of 120 months.
The grant is payable to those who contributed for less than 120 months but more than 12 months. In both cases one must either have reached the age of 60 and be unemployed or the age of 65, at which point the benefit is payable whether or not one is still working.
There is one exception to this rule. Those who have been employed in jobs that are categorised as arduous employment, such as farm work and some mining and quarrying jobs, can claim their retirement benefit at age 55.
That is provided they are unemployed and were employed in such arduous jobs for at least seven of the 10 years immediately prior to their turning 55.
A reader of this column or listener to the NSSA programme on Radio Zimbabwe wrote in to say his/her father was given a lump sum payment of US$1 236 and was told that he would not receive anything else.
“Is it true for someone who contributed for 13 years?” this person asked. The likelihood is that there were breaks in contributions over the 13 years and that the actual number of months of contributions came to less than 120 months.
l Talking Social Security is published weekly by the National Social Security Authority as a public service. There is also now a weekly radio programme, PaMhepo neNSSA/Emoyeni le NSSA, discussing social security issues every Thursday at 6.50pm on Radio Zimbabwe. Readers can e-mail issues they would like dealt with in this column to [email protected] or text them to 0735 041 278. Those with individual queries should contact their local NSSA office or telephone NSSA on (04) 706517-8 or 706523-5.
Online Reporter