Thursday, March 28, 2024

Adjustment of retirement age meant to secure the welfare of public service workers – Msiska

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Dr Roland Msiska Secretary to the Cabinet
Dr Roland Msiska Secretary to the Cabinet

Government has said that the public pension schemes in the country need immediate reform. Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska said that the schemes needed revision to meet the retirement needs of civil servants.

Dr. Msiska explained that the current pension scheme system is archaic and bankrupt and unable to meet the retirement needs of civil servants.

The Secretary to Cabinet said this when he launched the Zambian Chapter of the African Leadership Foundation at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka yesterday.

He explained that government was prompted to adjust the retirement age of civil servants from 55 to 65 years in order to secure the welfare of public service workers.

And speaking at the same function, International Development consultant Victor Koh urged Zambia to secure the future of the country by investing and developing in human resource to manage the country’s natural resources.

Dr Koh said Singapore had managed to move from a third world country to a first world status through leadership transformation that oversaw economic transformation and development

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Social Security Fackson Shamenda says the 65 years retirement age does not affect those that contribute to National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and Local Authority Superannuation Fund (LASF).

Mr Shamenda said in an interview that the retirement age affects the members of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) currently standing at 69,482 members as at August 2014.

“This implies that the increment in the retirement age only affects a small number of the formally employed population, which according to the labour force survey, is about 860,000 as of June 2012 and PSPF had about 55,000 pensioners and beneficiaries,” Mr Shamenda said.

Mr Shamenda said the 65 years retirement age should not cause anxiety in workers, adding that the retirement age in the southern region and beyond is 60.

“We adjusted the retirement age as a way of increasing people’s life span. Information has shown that most people that have retired at 55 have died earlier because of many factors,” Mr Shamenda said.

Commenting on concerns that keeping too many old people in public service will perpetuate unemployment among youths, Mr Shamenda said the best way is not to eliminate the older workers but to find ways of creating more employment.

“How many people are applying for contracts after retirement? A lot of them still want to do something and keep themselves active? The answer is not to kick out the old people, the answer is to create more employment opportunities,” Mr Shamenda said.

He said the essence of retirement is not for people to go in manual work or active employment after they retire, but to leisure around.

On November 21, 2014, acting President Guy Scott signed Statutory Instrument No. 63 of 2014 which stipulates that the retirement age for public service workers is 65

47 COMMENTS

  1. I also support raise in retirement age. How can HH retire at his age sure? There shouldn’t even be any retirement age, people should just decide. Why should a medical doctor retire?? Maybe a teacher, because science, maths all change according to technology, but not a doctor. I saw some 35 yr-old doctors at UTH, checking information on google on blackberry!! and I said hooooo lord no wonder so many funerals.

    • Nostradame, These i.diots are useless. Am fed up with all of them. We should just try HH for One year so that if he not performing we oust him legally. We have tried PF. Lets try someone new for one year then out and back to PF if he doesn’t perform then have PF then maybe try another bad one for five years. This is the best scenario to try a new leader.

      Sata failed us though he may have had a dream. he lacked education on how to achieve it. It wasn’t as easy as like riding a bicycle and insulting the next guy you overtake as he probably thought. They don’t even know what they are talking about but trying to secure their Jobs. How sad

    • That was good. You can imagine how knowledgeable he will be when he reaches 50/70. It would have been bad if that doctor pretended that he knows it all and then ends up with a wrong diagnosis or prescription as the case may be.

    • Come on Zambians, This is nonsense, in a country with high youth Unemployment, we should not allow such nonsense. when will the young also work? raising the retirement age is just to suite these selfish, old papas, who never want to retire.

      Give a chance to Young Zambians. No extension of the retirement Age. if the issue is about payment. just find ways of paying retirees.

      Young Zambians let us not allow this to happen. 55 is the retirement age …

    • According to PF formally employed number 860,000.

      So 50 years after independence less than a million people are in formal employment. Where are the over 300, 000 employed by PF in three years?

      PF thought by fabricating employment figures during their three years, they would not be caught out. Here we are, PF’s lies has again caught up with them.

      PF tell the truth , how many people are in formal employment since you came to power?

      If these employment figures are true then , UNIP,MMD and indeed have failed to create employment dismally. This is why Zambians need fresh minds to have a go ay ruling the country so fresh ideas can help create more real jobs.

      Adjusting this retirement age is meant for PF to protect their over 60 cronys in top positions and defer retirement…

    • Here in the west, the only plausible argument for raising the retirement age, is because the people are living longer and the life expectancy is about 70 years.

      For Zambia life expectancy has fallen dismally to less than 40 years under PF, because people are less happy, even if they work hard.So the PF ‘s justification for raising the retirement age does not make sense at all.

      This is another clear sign that PF top officials have stolen all the money to pay the retired.

      PF scrapped lump some payment of terminal benefits and opted for a more dodgy monthly option to dupe the retired. People wont manage to fulfil their obligations after retiring.

      HH will reverse all this madness. He will restore the lump some payment of retirement money within a month after a person has…

    • @Nostrademus

      Are you being realistic or sarcastic here? Medicine is one field that evolves very fast and medical doctors are paid to keep up dating their skills. For example open surgery is slowly being out dated and is increasingly being replaced by key hole surgery. So a doctor trained in the 70s would struggle to do the procedure unless retrained to do so.

      All the fields change radically with technology. So your argument my bro does not stack up. Instead, it favours the reduction of the retirement age for it to make sense.

      PF ni chimbwi chabe, they have no plans. When PF top officials reach 65 they will again raise it to 75years just to keep their cronys in power.

    • This policy of retiring at 65 yrs is common in socialist list countries.Its a bad policy in that it reduces creative people to be depend on a government salary ,hence killing entrepreneurship .This government position has come out because PF government has plunders money meant for paying retirees and over borrowing .Government is Bankrupt. That why I get annoyed when I see pipo screaming PF PF .Only *****s can support PF.Mwanawasa cleaned up the pension schemes by paying all retirees from 1993 in 2003 and was up todate by 2007.A worker would get his pension within a week of retiring.Only HH will make things work in Zambia.Pf is not trusted by donor countries.

    • You may have good reasons sir, Secretary to the Cabinet, but why don’t we improve on the empowerment of civil servants commenced by MMD? You see, if you empower civil servants early enough in their careers through plot/land allocation, loans, timely payment of benefits and entrepreneurship training such as done by the project the late Dennis Liwewe worked with, fewer retirees would suffer depression and die after retirement. Surely, for one to work vigorously and rigorously as is the case in some civil service jobs when one is 60 and above will be quite taxing. This decision must have been influenced by some senior civil servants who have continued to work beyond 70 as diplomats, PS’s and so-called special projects.

      I totally do not subscribe to 65 years retirement. May be 60.

    • Don’t be fooled, all Roland is doing is postponing the date when he has to pay you your dues. Absolutely nothing to do with improving your life after retirement.

      Quite a smart move considering that he won’t be there to find the money; he will have retired and paid himself! Your Poor HH will have to struggle with this.

    • We know that PF used all the monies they found with NAPSA,LASIF PSPF. No wonder they have adjusted the retirement age because they don’t have money anymore to pay retirees. Give them 5 more years and see the major plunder they will do to this nation.

  2. Job creation is what PF and Shamenda have lamentably failed and duped Zambians. PF culture of deception and corruption has plunged the nation into mistrust of PF regime prompting for change of government. Failure in job creation increases youth unemployment as they graduate from schools and colleges without any jobs and early retirement is only a small window of jobs. Government must absorb these graduates with job creation workable policies, Zambia is tired of lies of people like Shamenda and his party’s deceptive PF policies.

    • PF wants as to be Government workers for life.Its take away the right to get a lumps sum amount of money ,which clever retirees can invest wisely ,hence creating jobs for youths in the private sector and at the time creating vacancies for youths to be employed.It is very difficulty to go in politics under such a pension system because a person will always depend on government salary for life and when do you do politics.Only a few from rich families will be politicians and business people.This Pf governemt want to create a docile population of adult boot likers and a society of un touch able rich people or powerful ruling clans like in Russia or china.FWE BENA ZAMBIA IFWE TWAKANA.ITS HH FLIGHT 2015,CHABE.

  3. The Minister and Secretary to the Cabinet should explain if 65 years is compulsory or voluntary, meaning that someone may retire at 55 years if he so wishes or he may retire anytime after 55 but should not proceed 65 years. Life span is getting shorter and shorter in Zambia. Mr Minister if that is the case reduce it to 60 years as it is in most Southern and Eastern region of Africa such Malawi (60), Tanzania (60), Uganda (60) including Kenya (60) years of age. Don’t copy from Europe the life style differs from African setup

  4. Oh Mother zambia, the retirement age at 65 is not a bad thing but if they can only make adjustments on the payments when you reach 55, atleast they should pay someone even 75% then 25% you get it at 65.For now there is no difference because we see alot of people after 55 they go and look for work again because they are still energetic.

  5. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT RETIREMENT AGE. BUT PEOPLE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO BUILD HOUSES WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG. IT IS TRUE THAT MANY PEOPLE BECOME MISERABLE AFTER RETIRING. OTHERS ARE EVEN CALLED WITCHES BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOME GRAY HAIRS ON THEIR HEAD. THEY BECOME DESTITUTES. EVERYTIME THERE WILL BE SOMEONE RETIRING SO THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ENOUGH ROOM TO EMPLOY THE YOUTHS.

  6. No Msiska, it is a ploy by your government to postpone payment of terminal benefits for thousands of workers who are due for retirement. Think about the many young people queuing to be employed too. 10 years postponement is too much when life expectancy for a Zambia n is 47years!

  7. In 1990 they promised us honey,we gave them power what they did is to run down companies,people didnt get their benefits, sold our companies for a song,plundered the economy,chiefs were paid peanuts, civil servants no housing and transport allowance, meagre salaries,poor infrustructure.This went on for 20 years. 2011 PF came into power just for 3 years, We have ZAMTEL, ZR, NCZ, MULINGUSHI TEXTILES, many more companies opened, civil servannts 100% increment, good salaries for chiefs, massive infrustructure development,imwe bantu in all fainess I feel PF has worked in short time. Now the same people who brought misery to us for 20yrs,have regrouped once again promising honey in the name of UPND,Watch out zambians for these people.

  8. Strange justification…MSISKA is doing all these staff to keep himself in employment.
    He is 59 years old now…he wants 6 more years. His job now was supposed to be occupied by a younger person as he should have retired 4 years ago…
    Anyway his days are numbered…he is running but he will not hide…

    My fellow patriotic Zambians lets rise and say NO to such nonsense maneuvers by these selfish individuals

  9. “We adjusted the retirement age as a way of increasing people’s life span. Information has shown that most people that have retired at 55 have died earlier because of many factors,” Mr Shamenda said. Hon Shamenda, causes of these retired at 55 dying earlier (whatever this earlier means when life expectancy is 40) is due to poor medical facilities in the counrty; high cost of living; paying farmers late thereby creating a vicious circle of poverty; too much beer drinking due to so many frustrations arising from poor governance of the country; too much AIDS.

  10. I don’t think these characters understand anything to do with retirement. Surely with shorter life expectancy, can you be increasing retirement age. And in any case, this was an arbitrary descision, a decree. Were stakeholders consulted? I am surprised the labour movement is quite, is it because they do not want to lose the subscriptions also

  11. Msiska, stop speaking nonsense. How can you justify pegging the retirement age at 65 yrs. What is the life expectancy in Zambia? PSPF pays lump-sums and if on entering employment you had stated you will be paid your benefits at that age, please pay people their dues. Besides, your S.I. is in contrast with the constitution which stipulates that one retires at 55 yrs. So, your S.I when challenged in court is null and void. Plus PSPF is under Ministry of Finance, why is Fackson Shamenda speaking and not Alex Chikwanda. Why did the Acting President sign the S.I. and not the ABC. Learn to run affairs and institutions prudently and responsibly. Plus its interesting, are you saying NAPSA people will be retiring at 55 yrs while PSPF retire at 65 yrs in the same GRZ. This is total inconsistency

  12. The strategy is working, go to their rallies. Get the allowance and on that day in jan know who to vote for. They ferried me all the way to Mongu but they did not pay us what we were promised. We will not talk now, we will talk on 20th jan. Thanks

  13. They just want retirees to die before they get their retirement fund- then less problems to deal with (can manage to give stories to widows and children).

  14. Life expectancy in Zambia is around 40 due to: poor medical facilities, high cost of living, late payment of farmers thereby inflicting abject poverty on farmers, very poor retirement packages as most cash is used in campaigns, reckless Govt spending part of which arises from induced by-elections, too much plundering of nat. resources due to weak governance system (weak ACC, weak police, etc), where permission has to be sought from head of state b4 a minister is investigated. Country men & women, let us unite and join HH, the son of the soil, the son of our motherland, the son of Africa. We need to redeem our Zambia, redeem our motherland. HH we are with u and u are with us. Let us unite gainst poverty.

    Zambia our country we love u. We shall serve u with all our hearts & soul.

  15. Number 13 well articulated . PSPF is in a messy . PF should just leave office on 20 Jan pensioners are suffering with NO FUNDING for years yet ministers and their cohorts live in luxury. With this IS youths will be hard hit

  16. So you would rather save a few who die of depression after retirement than save a million who die of depression and hunger because they can’t find employment. Are you also saying those under NAPSA retirement age remains at 55 years clarify.

  17. Imwe bantu please,the retirement was adjusted because they could not pay the 55,000 beneficiaries whose monies are due,so they had to raise it to prolong ilyasi.Yes,bwana Msiska,the current system is archaic and corrupt.Spot on ! PF bye bye… ubwato has sunk.You have done too much damage in three years. Lungu,please talk about the debt in your campaigns.. how are you going to repay?

  18. This is law not entirely bad. it obviously has its own pitfalls. 55 is just too early to retire. even if an average Zambian is expected to live upto age 45 only the reasons are understandable and may not remain there forever.
    HH must rethink his stance on this one.

  19. I hope hon lungu will do sumthin abt this,otherwise this is situpid,hon shamenda is only defendin this nonsense bkoz him also is very old

  20. This policy, and now law, is very strange. Workers are being treated differently. Napsa and Lasf at one retirement age, civil servants at another. In the same country! This is a mistake, PF!

  21. I find it difficult to even participate to participate in this debate because of the ignorance I can see. Just look around your neighborhood, Southern Africa. Which country has retirement age pegged at 55 years? Life expectancy is the average number of years to live. It doesn’t mean all of you will die at 55 years or before during your working life. Check your facts: life expectancy in Zambia is 50 years and not below 40 years. Just take a trip to the Central Statistical Office opposite UTH to get your facts right.

  22. Raising the retirement age to 65 years doesn’t mean all of you have to retire at that age. One in physically demanding job like mining or football will retire before 55 years. One who uses his mind like an academic or a medical doctor can retire even at 80 years. There is also provision for early retirement so that you can retire after 25 years of continuous service even if you are only 49 years. Retirement age at 65 years is a United Nations recommended age.

  23. Zambians aged over 55 years make up only 5.5 percent of the total population of the country; those above 60 years, only 4 percent; and those above 65 years, only 2,7 percent. What this simply means is that 94.5 percent of the population is below 55 years. Given these facts, how can one argue that by raising the retirement age to 65 years, older people will be blocking the career progression of younger people? So few blocking so many?

  24. This law is okay if as PF started they cud manage to sustain optimal salary adjustments and provide loans/mortgages at affordabl interest rates. it wud also work well if as Dr Koh has said we can design a robust bt dynamic and flexibl human capitl devlopment program.Today unlike 15 yrs ago, with so many universities one can safely talk of education liberalisatn.This means unless a civil servant wants to remain in the same job up to 65 years they shouldn’t be forced because for sure this would promote stasis and deprive the young of employment.The public service(include parastatals)ought to open up and promote mobility of ideas and hence knowledge/skill distribution; then this law would work to everyone’s advantage.Focus shud be on continual skills devlopmt and non ‘ll complain.

  25. This is an interesting piece of debate.Let me ask the bloggers the following questions as a way of contributing to this debate on retirement age.

    1. How many countries are still maintaining the retirement age as low as fifty five years as the case is with Zambia?
    2. What is the real motive of government in its upward adjustment of the retirement age ?
    3 Suppose the retirement age has not been adjusted would it mean that it would be maintained at fifty five forever?
    4 Those of you who are waiting for Mr Hichilema , s victory and supposing he ascends to plot 1 after the presidential bye election do you have a guarantee he will wipe away unemployment? More so fundamentally what are the courses of unemployment?
    5. In some departments within the public sectors like Education, health…

  26. Am just scared because a lot of our parents will go to their graves without seeing what they have toiled for throughout their lives,given that zed’s life span is busy getting to a below par as normally expected. what a jock!!

  27. The revision of retirement age would have made more sense if it had been at the instigation of public service unions because one would have known that consultations had been undertaken with relevant membership beforehand

  28. this government is the worst. i am not hearing how if the reitrement age is 65 they wont stil b unable to pay the pipo. these pipo GROSSLY MISMANAGED pipos benefits and want to be given more tym to do what. and y is the civil servant having to wait a decade while o others stil get at 55yrs if its really for the avearge zambians benefit. they need to correct wat was done wrong and rectify it instaed of just making the zambians incur the cost of their mismanagement. how dull do they think we are ai

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