Kenyans to Claim and Receive NSSF Funds Within 24 Hours
According to recent statistics, 84% of Kenyan adults lack social security funds, prompting the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to start an ambitious project to disburse claims within 24 hours of submission.
The CEO of the NSSF, David Korros, emphasized the need to correct long-standing claims processing delays.”NSSF has been notorious for delaying claims for up to one year,” Korros said.
According to Korros, the NSSF is committed to making the issue a thing of the past by ensuring that claims are processed within a day, with the goal of achieving this by 2027.
Korros stated that their objective is clear: when filing a claim with NSSF, beneficiaries should have their benefits in their account within 24 hours, regardless of when the claim is launched.
During the unveiling of the NSSF’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2023-2027 on Tuesday, May 7, troubling numbers emerged, demonstrating the insufficiency of pension systems in providing for retirees.
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Only 6% of retirees rely on pension schemes, while 60% of pensioners continue to work to support themselves.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi highlighted the urgent requirement for NSSF to broaden its scope, emphasizing that the current income replacement ratio upon retirement stands at only 40 percent, which falls well below the recommended level of 75 percent. As a result, many retirees face financial difficulties during their retirement years.
Furthermore, NSSF statistics revealed that, despite saving over Ksh350 billion, according to President William Ruto, 1.2 million old people in Kenya go to bed hungry, with 800,000 of them living alone.
Concerns regarding the NSSF’s financial management have been around for a while. In 2022, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu disclosed that pensioners had not claimed Ksh166.83 million in benefits by the end of June 2022.
Furthermore, the fund failed to send cash to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority, leading to Ksh3.6 billion in unclaimed benefits.
A baseline survey estimated that Ksh241 billion in unclaimed financial assets were unreported, highlighting the need for strong regulatory procedures to protect retirees’ rights.
These unclaimed assets highlight structural issues, such as a lack of appropriate estate planning and recipients unaware of their entitlements.
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The NSSF CEO reiterated his call for Kenyans to adopt a saving culture, emphasizing that saving for retirement is not akin to a tax.
He stressed the importance of understanding the necessity to save for retirement and the need to increase the savings rate as a percentage of GDP to around 30 percent.
Additionally, he highlighted that a significant portion of the Kenyan population is young and encouraged them to save for the next 30 years to secure a comfortable retirement.
Kenyans to Claim and Receive NSSF Funds Within 24 Hours
