admin“IAM a man aged 32 and have contributed to NSSA for seven years and was retrenched at work. Will I get a funeral grant when I die?” This was the rather sombre question asked by one contributor. The answer is yes. A funeral grant is payable to the person responsible for meeting the funeral expenses. If he has a wife and children, there would be a survivor’s benefit payable to them.
If he is unmarried and has no children but his parents are financially dependent on him and he has registered them with NSSA as dependants, then they would be able to claim the survivor’s benefit. The same would apply if the contributor was a woman.
A funeral grant would be payable and a survivor’s benefit would be payable to her husband and children or other dependants, in the event of her death.
In both cases, the amount payable as funeral grant depends on the rate prevailing on the date of death.
The funeral grant is currently $300.
However, why should a young man of 32 be pre-occupied with whether or not a funeral grant would be paid when he dies?
Unless he has a terminal illness, he is likely to have many years ahead of him, during which hopefully he can find new employment.
If he fails to find new employment in the formal sector between now and the time he turns 60, which is 28 years away, he will still be entitled to a retirement grant.
However, if he finds new employment within the formal sector and contributes to the national pension scheme for a further three years, then he would be entitled to a pension. It is possible for him to contribute for another 28 or 33 years before claiming the retirement benefit since the maximum contribution age is 65 years.
The amount of the pension would depend on the contribution period and insurable earnings on retirement.
Being retrenched is not normally a pleasant experience, especially at such a young age. However, at 32 there could still be many opportunities for work ahead of one, even if it does not seem likely at the moment.
After contributing to the pension scheme for seven years and with only another three years of contributions needed to be entitled to a retirement pension, it is worth trying to obtain another job within the formal sector where contributions to the pension scheme can continue.
Of course, jobs may not be easy to find and it may take a while to obtain one.
It is also possible for anyone at any age to have a terminal illness and be unlikely to reach retirement age. Another person who is also 32 and contributed for seven years to the pension scheme while working as a receptionist asked whether there was any benefit she could claim.
She said she had thought there was a certain grant that NSSA was able to give to anyone who had contributed.
The only benefits that can be paid by the pension scheme to contributors are a retirement benefit or an invalidity benefit.
There is also the survivor’s benefit payable to the surviving spouse and children of a deceased contributor or pensioner.
In every case, whether the benefit is a grant or a pension depends on the contribution period. A minimum of 10 years contributions are required for a retirement or survivor’s pension.
A minimum of 12 months contributions are needed for an invalidity pension.
If contributions have been made for a lesser period, then a grant is payable, provided contributions were made for at least 12 months in the case of the retirement grant and survivor’s grant or six months in the case of an invalidity grant.
The funeral grant is payable for the funeral of anyone who has contributed to the pension scheme for at least 12 months.
That applies to current contributors and past contributors.
It applies to those who were receiving a retirement pension or invalidity pension and those who received a retirement grant.
The funeral grant can be claimed by whoever is responsible for paying for the funeral.
The claim can be processed while the claimant waits, provided it is submitted with the correct documentation.
The claim form, the P9/P10 form, has to be completed by the person claiming the grant and by the deceased contributor’s employer.
It should be submitted with a certified copy of the claimant’s national identity card, driver’s licence or valid Zimbabwean passport, as well as a certified copy of the death certificate or, if the person has not yet been buried, burial order.
If the person claiming the grant is a spouse of the deceased contributor, then a certified copy of the marriage certificate should also be provided. If not, then the claimant should provide an affidavit.
Although one might expect most people to claim the funeral grant before or soon after the burial, the law allows up to five years to lodge the claim. No claims for a funeral grant are entertained if they are submitted more than five years after the contributor or pensioner died.
The special concession whereby late claims for retirement, invalidity and survivor’s grants received between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 will be accepted only applies to these grants.
It does not apply to the funeral grant.
Talking Social Security is published weekly by the National Social Security Authority as a public service. There is also a weekly radio programme on social security, PaMheponeNSSA/Emoyeni le NSSA, at 6.50 pm every Thursday on Radio Zimbabwe and Friday on National FM. Readers can e mail issues they would like dealt with in this column to [email protected] or text them to 0772 307913. Those with individual queries should contact their local NSSA office or telephone NSSA on (04) 706523/5, 706545/9, or 799030/1.
Online Reporter