Early retirement pension

pension payable under this scheme is payable when a person retires due to old age.
Strictly speaking, a person can retire at any age. However, there are certain ages that are generally accepted as normal retirement ages, ages after which society or an employer expects an employee to retire, ages at which one is eligible for a pension. The exact age varies from country to country.
Some people retire early of their own volition. Perhaps they have made enough money to be able to live comfortably without needing to work. There are also some jobs that require considerable physical stamina, where early retirement is the norm. Some of those who retire from these jobs take on new jobs. Others do not.
However, early retirement does not in itself mean one is able to claim one’s retirement pension. Pension schemes have a particular age or ages at which pensions are payable. If they have a provision for early retirement they may have specific criteria for eligibility for an early retirement pension.
NSSA has stipulated three possible retirement ages when one can apply for a retirement pension. The standard retirement age is 60. There is an early retirement age of 55 and a late retirement age of 65.
To be eligible for a pension at the early retirement age of 55 a person must have been working in one of a number of specified categories of employment considered arduous and have been employed in one of those categories of work for seven of the 10 years prior to turning 55. Only a limited number of people are eligible, therefore, for this early retirement pension.
The occupations considered arduous for the purposes of claiming an early retirement benefit from NSSA are listed as: all agricultural work; quarry work; underground mining operations such as lashing, tramping, grizzly operations and rigging. And employment in hot areas such as where there are coke ovens and smelters; surface smelter furnaces refining, kettle attendance and trapping operations; heavy truck driving; and the following forestry occupations: chain saw operator, jack operator, jig saw operator; DT operator, timber loader, cross cut saw operator and stumper.
Those who retire early from their jobs but are not eligible for an early retirement pension from NSSA, because their work is not among the job categories where work is categorised as arduous, would be best advised to find another job and continue contributing to the national pension fund in order to increase their pension contribution period and thus increase the pension they will receive when they finally reach the standard NSSA retirement age.
Being able to claim one’s retirement benefit early is not necessarily beneficial as it shortens one’s contribution period, which reduces the value of the benefit.
The normal retirement age for a NSSA pension is 60, if the person concerned is no longer employed and no longer contributing to the scheme. However, those who are still fit enough to work can continue working and contributing up to the age of 65, after which they should stop contributing and claim their pension, whether or not they are still working.
To qualify for a pension, whether at age 55, 60 or 65, one should have been contributing to the national pension scheme for at least 120 months.
If the contribution period is less than that, then a retirement grant is payable, provided the contribution period is no less than 12 months. If it is less than 12 months, then the individual is refunded his or her contributions with interest.
There is another type of pension that is payable to those under 60 years of age, namely an invalidity pension. The invalidity pension is payable to contributors who become permanently incapable of working as a result of an illness or injury.
To qualify for this pension the contributor must be below the age of 60, have contributed for at least 12 months and be medically certified as permanently incapable of working as a result of physical or mental ill health. An invalidity pension is less than a retirement pension.
An invalidity grant is payable if the contributor has contributed for less than 12 months but more than six months.
A retirement pension should, statutorily, be claimed within 12 months of retirement. A retirement grant should be claimed within five years of retirement. An invalidity pension should be claimed within 12 months of the person becoming incapacitated. An invalidity grant can be claimed within five years of the invalidity.
Those who are late with their pension claim may still have the application entertained but the pension will only be paid with effect from the date of the application.

l Talking Social Security is published weekly by the National Social Security Authority as a public service. 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.