WINDHOEK - Plans by the Social Security Commission (SSC) to set up a contributory pension scheme meant to cater for close to 250 000 beneficiaries not attached to any pension fund is still on the cards, SSC Manager for Communication and Marketing Unomengi Kauapirura confirmed upon inquiry yesterday.
Kauapirura, speaking to New Era, said the revised National Pension Fund (NPF) policy is currently being updated by the NPF team for consideration and approval of the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Erkki Nghimtina.
The revised NPF is expected to be fully implemented in 2019.
According to the 2016 Labour Force Survey, the total number of employed people in Namibia stood at an estimated 676 885 that year.
Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority’s (Namfisa) 2016 4th quarterly statistical bulletin indicates that 285 416 people are active members of all existing pension funds.
This means 391 469-employed people did not belong to any pension fund in 2016.
However, Kauapirura said 164 992 of the 391 469 people were in vulnerable employment in 2016 and were unlikely to contribute to the proposed revised NPF.
Therefore, she said, the maximum potential new members of the NPF is approximately 230 000.
Kauapirura said the Social Security Pension Scheme, as proposed, will among others provide relevant old age and disability benefits to all workers, and survivor benefits to their dependents in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
She explained the scheme will be funded by means of contributions from all workers and employers.
Kauapirura added that a draft Social Security Pension Policy was completed in February last year, together with supporting consolidated technical discussion paper of December 2016.
She said this was followed by a consultative workshop in May 2017 between the ministry of labour, Namfisa, SSC board and management and consultants to review aspects of NPF policy and design framework.
“This workshop recommended that NPF consultant team review specific aspects of the design and governance of the NPF,” she added.
In response, she said the NPF team completed and submitted a document on NPF governance and design options to SSC board and minister of labour in December 2017.
She said the line minister Nghimtina and his team have reviewed the documents and have recommended further revisions on the recommended design of the NPF, following a consultation and briefing session between the minister and Board and management teams of SSC and MLIREC in March 2018.
Meanwhile, the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) sets the explicit goal that a NPF be established on the basis that many employed Namibians are excluded from retirement fund arrangements.
The stated intention of HPP is to operationalise the NPF during the HPP period, and for that purpose sets the goal of ensuring that the required legal and administrative framework are established during the Harambee period.