‘Retirees retention a burden’
THE retention of retired employees on the payroll is impacting negatively on productivity because employers are unable to replace them, Secretary to the Cabinet Simon Miti said yesterday.
And Dr Miti has proposed that Article 189 on the payment of pension benefits promptly and regularly in the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No.10 of 2019 be removed completely from the Constitution.
He said this when he made submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitutional Bill No. 10 of 2019 on behalf of Cabinet Office.
Dr Miti said instead, the provision to ensure pension security should be addressed in the regulations governing various pension schemes.
“Under the current provisions, retirees are entitled to both a salary by the employer and monthly pension benefits until the pension lump sum benefits are paid, resulting in double payment,” Dr Miti said.
"It is Government's considered view that design challenges of these schemes cannot be addressed by providing for Article 189 in the Constitution," he said.
Dr Miti said Government was concerned about the plight of retirees who had not received their pension benefits.
He said Government had since started a comprehensive reform process of the public pension schemes to make them sustainable and enhance their performance. Dr Miti said Government had undertaken extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders and actual studies supported by international partners in the pension reform processes.
"There is an urgent need to reform the public pension schemes to make them more sustainable and able to pay meaningful pension benefits to their members as the case is for NAPSA," he said.