Savers with National Social Security Fund (NSSF) are over the moon over the Pension Fund’s latest announcement. The savers will be sharing a whopping Shs 1.1 trillion for the financial year 2017/18 after the Fund declared a 15 percent interest, the highest ever, following a great financial performance.
The interest rate is a rise from 11.23 per cent for the Financial Year 2016/17.
Good year indeed
NSSF managing director Mr Richard Byarugaba said they had had a good year.
“We have had a good year (2017), we earned good returns on the fixed income and equity markets in East Africa the stock exchanges in Uganda and Kenya performed well in 2017. So, so we are sharing with our members the profits we have made.”
Officiating at the annual general meeting of the Fund on Tuesday, State Minister for Finance Gabriel Ajedra said this is going to be the first time the fund will pay such an interest rate to its members.
“The Fund will pay an annual interest rate of 15 per cent which will be Shs 1.1 trillion in total. I am impressed by the fund’s commitment to transparency which is something some of us, as government need to replicate across. I want to underscore the good performance of the board and management. Within, the last three years, the fund has registered about 500,000 savers,” Eng. Ajedra said.
The highest ever interest declared to members was in 2007/2008 when then Managing Director, David Chandi Jamwa declared a 14 per cent rate.
Best interest rate ever
Currently, about 2 million people are saving with the National social security Fund and a total of shs1.5 trillion has been contributed by these members to the fund.
Contributions recorded a 14 per cent growth to Shs1.05 trillion for the financial year 2017/18 compared to Shs917b the previous financial year.
Stalled Projects to be resuscitated
Mr Byarugaba also revealed that construction of the pension towers will start in three months. “Three years down the road, the NSSF Pension towers will be the tallest and biggest building in town; it will cost us 110m dollars of our money”
NSSF board chairman Patrick Byabakama Kaberenge said the fund will remain focused developing the real estate sector to supplement on government efforts of solving the problem of shortage of houses
NSSF has previously embarked on mega real estate projects including the low-cost Nsimbe Housing estate, the Soho Apartments in Mbuya and other commercial projects.