Harare, (New Ziana)-The National Social Security Act should be amended to allow for higher deductions to be made to enable increases in pension payouts, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has said.

Last year, the NSSA Pensioners Advocacy Zimbabwe petitioned Parliament to look into the plight of pensioners in light of meagre payouts.

Parliament then tasked the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to conduct an enquiry into the issues and come up with a report, which was presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The petitioners informed the Committee that the monthly payouts from NSSA were inadequate, resulting in many challenges such as failure to cater for food, shelter, medication and utility bills.

They told the Committee that the monthly pay-outs of $40 were their only source of income and were insufficient to sustain them and their dependents. As a result, most pensioners were living below the poverty datum line.

“The pensioners’ dissatisfaction with the meagre pay-outs they receive was justified considering that the amount was grossly inadequate to cater for basic needs. However, the problem should be solved by amending the National Social Security Authority Act by removing contributions ceiling and allowing the Authority to deduct a reasonable contribution amount which will result in reasonable payouts. This shortfall in funding was impacting negatively on the ability of the Authority to provide adequate benefits to pensioners,” the Committee said.

The Committee also urged the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to continuously monitor and regulate the operations and conduct of all pension houses to ensure regular and meaningful pay-outs to members on retirement.

New Ziana