Minister of Labour and Social Security Joyce Simukoko says many people die after retirement because they do not prepare adequately for their pensions.
Ms. Simukoko said employees in both the formal and informal sectors should prepare for their retirement package by saving and investing contributions to the pensionable schemes.
The Minister said retirees end up dying early after retirement because they do not have resources to sustain their livelihoods after employment due to poor saving habits among workers.
She noted that lack of saving has been a major contributor to destitution amongst retirees.
The Minister was speaking in Lusaka today during the launch of this year’s Pensions Awareness Week held at Intercontinental hotel in Lusaka.
She stated that the aim of the pension’s week is to alert the nation on some ills of not saving enough for retirement and to unite the financial service industry, businesses, employers and government to share innovative ideas.
And Pensions and Insurance Authority Registrar Martin Libinga said there was need to make the pension systems efficient in order to meet the needs and aspirations of the Zambians.
Mr. Libinga noted that making the pension systems efficient is the only way to ignite confidence in the general citizenry.
He also called on the market players to be more proactive in marketing their products, noting that currently occupational pension schemes only cover about 10 percent of those in formal employment.
The 2018 Pensions week is running under the theme, “Save, Invest, Insure: Your future begins with pensions, an awareness programme promoted by the pensions.”
Madam Nonde, when you talk about Certain things you should first remember that whether you are a minister or a maid our needs as humans are the same. Education or political status doesn’t change our basic needs. When there is nothing to save, there is nothing to save.simple.its not about poor saving habits. There is simply nothing to save to majority of us. Stop insulting us
Wow what kind of insults are these? Is insulting a qualification in PF?
I had respect for Joyce.
How can someone save from Chinese salary or teachers whom government never pay in time?
This is sickening ! What kind of weed did this woman smoke for her to vomit this kind of nonsense? Is she normal? What can you save when you have gone for five months without getting your salary ? Is she aware that there are thousands of employees in Zambia who stay for several months without receiving their salaries?
Don’t insult people like that !!
I am shell-shocked that this woman has become this useless.
Here is how Joyce Nonde saved for her retirement. While at building society and a senior workers union official for years, she befriended and went out with a married man. Then Simukoko’s wife passed on and the rest is history …
These are the kind of leaders Zambians deserve. Well done madam, continue advising the overtaxed citizens. They really deserve your advice.
HaNegatives think Negative first, then the message. The goodness is that it is UNELECTABLE.
These guys have lost touch with reality just because they are getting above k40,000 a month they think the rest of Zambia are in the same bracket…just because they drive luxury SUVs and don’t feel the potholes in these abandoned streets they think all the roads are perfect…how does one make a contribution to a pension even as an SME when even with the minim wage of K1000 the business climate is so hard, no these apamwambas senior govt officers are just living on a mad man’s paradise they are out of touch with reality. One day they too will come back to reality just as former Unip and MMD govt did where are they now?
So advises Nonde who enjoys more free untaxed perks and can afford to save the whole salary she gets as her allowances are more than the salary itself. It’s not surprising that politicians have a habit of insulting reality of the common people!
Minister, you are way out of touch with reality on this one.
Yes people have died standing on those long ques to collect the little they get after contributing for years in pension funds.. some have died waiting and they kept being told government had no money! Let’s look back from chiluba regime to date.. pensioners lost their dignity due to irresponsible politicians.. please research further and apologise to families that lost their pensioners!
Madam Simukoko.
I want you to table the following:
1. When an Employee separates from an Employer(Not Dismissed) after serving for at least 5 years, the employer must be compelled to given them a token of appreciation. What is your take on this one?
People are leaving after 15 years and nothing is paid. These are issues requiring your attention immediately.
What about retirement in national interest which is a strategic component of ethnic like we are seeing in the civil service? How does one prepare for it? By the way this ethnic cleansing(retirements in national interest), constitutes crimes against humanity and the ICC is waiting!
People don’t retire in Zambia, they just change their employment from a monthly salary to a more tougher job of tilling the land with a hoe or join the many underpaid security guards. Who can survive on a monthly retirement package of K128? Ba Joyce Nonde Simukoko please don’t mock the people, you’ve relatives who aren’t doing well and they wait for you at funerals to seek assistance, that’s not a joke. May be you have abandoned your poor relatives tefyo? Bweleni ku bantu twapapata
I THOUGHT BEFORE SHE BECAME A MINISTER SHE WAS IN THE UNION OF WHICH SHE UNDERSTOOD THE WHOLE ISSUE OF THE HAPPENINGS. PLEASE,MADAM NONDE STOP PRETENDING.YOU HAVE NOT BEEN A MINISTER ALL YOUR LIFE.IT IS ONLY RECENTLY WHEN ECL FELT LIKE HE COULD PUT U THERE BUT IF KING COBRA WAS THERE SEMBE KAYA
Joyce, Joyce! You are talking about adequate preparations when you are not paying salaries and retirement benefits to the workers whom you have contracted to serve in the government. Is it not your office that is supposed to push for payment of salaries, gratuities and retirement benefits to the deserving workers. You and the toothless ZCTU seem to enjoy watching helpless workers suffering. Come on! Work up!
Your office and the toothless ZCTU are responsible for the escalating poverty levels in the country
A lot of employees have salaries deducted but employers don’t remit the contributions.When the employees complain,NAPSA will say push them to do so.What happens to the employees? Dismissal from work.Where does the man/woman go?Street and finish your hard earned shoes.NAPSA should penalize crooked employers.A lot of our colleagues have since passed away and lost the battle.Honourable Simukoko please go out and sensitize both employees and employers as well as all the beneficiaries in case the
employees dies.There’s a lot we as workers are losing.