EDITORIAL: New NSSF rates welcome, but safeguard vital fund

The National Social Security Fund provides a vital financial safety net for millions of pensioners.

In February, the much-awaited new rates come into effect, which means the NSSF will receive higher contributions to ensure that pensioners do not retire into penury.

At the present mandatory minimum rate of Sh200/- a month for every employee, pensioners, usually financially vulnerable, retire to a life of stress and infirmity which sooner rather than later send them to their early graves.

The new rates will now be six per cent of an employee’s salary.

The minimum bequest rises to Sh480 while high-income earners will contribute as much as Sh4,320 from the present Sh2,160.

The decision to review the contributions upwards cannot have come at an opportune moment.

Life expectancy has improved which means people are living longer and will find the NSSF nest egg handy and a major source of sustenance long after they have stopped working and staring into their sunset years.

But the NSSF must mend its ways and strengthen its fund management methods to give no room for risky financial decisions that not only damage the reputation and trust but also lose the fund cash.

HISTORICAL QUOTE

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

MARTIN LUTHER KING

The American clergyman and leader of the Civil Rights Movement was born on January 15, 1929.