National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has outlined four key strategic imperatives that will enable the Fund size to grow by fourfold from the current shs5.8 trillion to shs20 trillion by 2025 in an effort to retain and return better value to its members.
“The strategy that will deliver the customer experience will be based on; building a strong financial base so we can secure a better life for our members, innovating and becoming more relevant to our member, excelling on business processes that touch our members and making NSSF a delightful place to work for our staff so they can serve our members better,” said Richard Byarugaba, NSSF Managing Director, at the third edition of the NSSF Annual Members Meeting (AMM) on Wednesday.
“A motivated and engaged workforce, supported by excellent processes, and a strong financial base that delivers superior results, will all work together to give members a reason to choose to stay with NSSF. In summary, over the next 10 years, Fund objectives are to help the fund achieve; growth in customer satisfaction to over 90%, provide members with a return of at least 2% above 10 year inflation, grow Fund size to Shs20 trillion and become one of best pension Fund worldwide,” he told guests at the AMM.
The Members Meeting attracted over 700 people, including NSSF contributors, employers, workers unions’ representatives, government representatives and members of the public, at Kampala Serena Hotel.
“To build a strong financial base, we aim at preserving our member savings through prudent investments that provide for a real return to members. This will be determined by improvement in compliance and unlocking the value in key projects in Lubowa, Pension Towers and Temangalo,” he said.
The Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija, commended the Fund’s strategic plan and vision. “As Government we shall maintain interest in the Fund. We are keen on seeing the Fund, the country’s National scheme and largest financial institution, continue to remain a major player in the sector and play an even bigger role in the economic development of the country.”
He added; “On this note, I would like to challenge the Bank of Uganda and other government statutory bodies to come up with innovative financial products such as infrastructure bonds and municipal bonds that provide a good return on investment to tap into the growing NSSF investment portfolio.”
AMM, now an annual event, is in fulfillment of the Fund’s commitment to Transparency and Accountability. It is a platform that enables it report to members, who are the owners of the Fund, performance over the last year, and give them a picture of the strategic direction of the Fund.
At the same event, 25 companies were recognized for compliance over the last year. “We recognised the best employers in terms of compliance, basing on our 360 degrees compliance check. In other words, employers should be remitting contributions for all their employers, these contributions should be remitted on time, and in the right amounts of money as per their legal obligations,” Barbra Arimi, NSSF Head of Marketing and Communications, said.
The Fund announced an interest rate of 13% for the Financial Year 2014/15, which translates into shs514 billion in monetary terms. The new rate is an increase from 11.5%, about Shs366 billion, the Fund paid last year. It means that savers of the Fund will earn shs144 billion more this year compared to shs88 billion increment the last financial year. This is in line with the Fund’s commitment to pay a competitive return to its members.