Ugandan employees faking death to access retirement funds
Employees in Uganda are faking death in order to access their National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Managing Director of the institution, Patrick Ayota has revealed.
The funds which are collected by NSSF to serve as retirement funds for employees of the private sector in Uganda who are not covered by the Government Retirement Scheme, are being collected by persons who are not due for collection.
According to local news outlet New Vision, these persons go to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to access their death certificate with which they process their savings.
This was discovered by the institution after the culprits used their biometric fingerprint in the process of accessing their credentials.
Ayota told New Vision that accessing savings for the dead takes a longer period because checks are done at the grave and in the community to ensure the person is really deceased.
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“There is always an outcry by members to receive their money when they are still young and energetic. If you are young and energetic, then you can work harder and make more out of what you are earning now, you don’t need your future funds now,” he is quoted to have said.
Speaking during a regional employers’ meeting organized by NSSF, the managing director explained that the situation came to their notice after a whistleblower exposed some employers who failed to pay the funds of their employees.
In such cases Ayota explains, they are investigated and given the opportunity to remit after which they are prosecuted upon failure to do so.
