KUDOS TO PRESIDENT HICHILEMA FOR SIGNING PENSION AMENDMENT BILL
President Hakainde
Dear Editor, THE move by President Hakainde Hichilema to sign into law, the National Pension Scheme Amendment Bill of 2023 is commendable.
This is because it will allow employees and those not working to access the partial withdrawal of their pensions. Under the current National Pension Scheme law, workers will be allowed to withdraw 20 percent of their pension contributions. The eligibility for a person to access the 20 percent of the pension contributions is that one must be 45 years and above and the person must have contributed the pensions for 60 months.
The government through the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) has disbursed K11 billion targeting at paying 600, 000 people across the country. The beneficiaries of the partial withdrawal of the pension are required to sign up on the NAPSA portal to access the login details. Once the signup process is concluded, the beneficiary can access the money instantly through either the bank account or the mobile money platform. The NAPSA offices have recently been characterised by long queues as people are eager to access the partial pension benefits. However, about 20, 000 people had been registered as of last Wednesday and the registration exercise for accessing the partial pension benefits is ongoing. The accessing of the partial pension will alleviate poverty at household level of the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries can invest part of their pensions in some business enterprise of their preference and other income generating ventures.
The investments can sustain the beneficiaries before and after retiring from formal employment. As a matter of caution, the beneficiaries of the partial pension benefits should not squander their money. They should seek financial advice from some relatives and friends if possible. Kudos to President Hichilema for the job well done and for actualising one of his campaign promises when he was in opposition.