Proposed NSSF law faulty, says authority

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Friday, November 9  2012 at  19:20

 

The Retirement Benefits Authority has faulted the proposed law set to revamp the National Social Security Fund saying it risks killing existing occupational pension schemes.

Addressing the public during the retirement benefits open day in Nairobi on Friday, RBA chief executive Edward Odundo took exception to the proposed Bill over an opt-out regulation.

“So the employees are going to be told to contribute for the fund, and NSSF decides when they can opt out. That cannot work. The provision should be given to another independent organ,” said Mr Odundo.

Act as a regulator

He said NSSF is like any other scheme and cannot act as a regulator.

The government introduced NSSF Transformation Bill, 2012, as a public mandatory social security scheme covering all employees in the formal sector and a voluntary scheme for self-employed and workers in informal sector who wish to contribute to the fund.

The Bill, rallied to be beneficial to both the formal and informal sectors of the society has attracted controversy regarding contributions increment.

But it is the mandatory contributions by the formal sector which are already remitting benefits in other schemes that Mr Odundo thinks is the undoing of the Bill.