The Zambia National Pensions Association in Serenje district in central Province have advised President Edger Lungu not to reverse the 65 years retirement age.
Speaking to ZANIS in a walk-in interview, ZANAPA Chairperson, Ewen Chansa, said President Lungu should maintain the new pension reform program approved by Cabinet recently which puts the retirement age at 65.
Mr Chansa, who was accompanied by the association Secretary, Kaemba Lukwesa and other members, said the retirement age should remain at 65 to help the country retain experienced workers.
Mr Chansa observed that currently, the country is lacking a lot of experienced workers both in government and in the private sector because of the retirement age which has been at 55.
“The bill Dr Guy Scott signed when he was acting republican President should not be changed. In fact the 65 years retirement age is a demand from the Commonwealth to which Zambia is part,” he said.
Mr Chansa also called on the President to enact a new constitution that will give retirees one third of one’s salary.
The ZANAPA Chairperson, who observed that a third of a retiree’s pension would be sustainable, further congratulated President Lungu on his January 20 electoral victory.
He urged Zambians to give President Lungu support.
Please let 65 be optional. Some people don’t plan for their retirement whilst others do.
Lungu be careful of your appointments you are making. Remember we voted for you, we can vote you out, especially we can see that Lupiya is the one who is ruling here. We did not want him we gave you a chance knowing very well that you did not have a vision. Be warned not to be used as a stooge to Banda.
My sincere advice to Mr. Lungu is to abolish all pension schemes, government occupational and NAPSA. They are all frauds. They enrich the administrators and managers of the schemes. The best alternative is that an employee opens Retirement Savings account with a bank. Employers remit monthly amounts to that account and employee is free to give “Investment instructions” to the bank.Amount in his account can remain in savings account, periodically get invested in long term term deposits, treasury bills, government bonds or municipal bonds can be bought. Strict guidelines can be issued by the Pensions and Insurance Authority (incidentally their name will change to Insurance and Retirement Authority) that within which an employee can operate in selection of investments.
BOZ can issue a list of maximum charges that banks can impose on investing funds into bonds and treasury bills etc. NO fund, NEVER EVER in Zambia has beaten simple investment mediums of Bank’s term deposits, treasury bills and government bonds. All Pension Schemes as my good financial guru once explained to me and my colleagues, are a drain on workers savings, the managers of pensions schemes are parasites, living on poor workers’ hard earned monies. My expertise is in occupational pension schemes and can safely say that they are let down in Zambia and world wide alike. Other alternative is paying off gratuity every year for workers to plan and invest in real estates, business, important life events than enriching big fishes in Pension industry.
Just scrap this retirement age issue because it will never be followed by prominent people in government at all.
Let people work until they die or fail to stand or walk because its what government leaches want for they can not survive on their own. They will keep on increasing the retirement age to suit themselves and their relatives. So its best to just scrap the whole thing all together.
It was at 45, then 50 then 55 then 65, next it will be at 70, then 75,80, 90, ………………………… Mugabe is over almost 90, he is still working.
PF spews a lot of lies and rubbish. Only people sick in the head believe what PF says.
Those who are advocating for 65 years retirement age have their banks in the bottle and have no plans for their children and their lives. I can not believe it when many have died at the age less than 55.
Lungu be careful of your appointments you are making. Remember we voted for you, we can vote you out, especially we can see that Lupiya is the one who is ruling here. We did not want him we gave you a chance knowing very well that you did not have a vision. Be warned not to be used as a stooge to Banda.
It was a campaign promise and therefore we expect Mr. Chagwa to reverse it accordingly. Meanwhile, you so called retiries, who told you we still need your experience as watchmen or as messengers. There are already arrangements in place that take care of those with rare skills such as doctors, judges and professors at universities. My advise to pensioners in serenje: invest your pensions in farming and even in witchcraft and let the young people also get jobs uv left at 55.
If u plan well for ur future u can retire at 45. Let the young also work
Is it fair to condemn our children and grandchildren to a life of unemployment whist bankote continue drawing salaries from public and private institutions.
Zambia, give chance to young people in their early 20s to get some experience and earn some capital.
It is completely unacceptable to cut our children’s prospects for the next decade (65 -55 = 10 ; a decade) to despondency and streetism, prostitution, kabova et al.
On this one Lungu, I expect immediate reversal to 55.
which pensioners? one man association want to change what majority of zambian don’t want. President E Lungu promised to reverse this anomaly. How old are these so called association members. it seems these guys never planned for their future or they may have a running bank loan…WE DON’T WANT 65 YEARS AS A RETIRING AGE..
The older one becomes,the more physical and mental impairment. Leave room for jobless young people roaming the shop corridors
What experience when the same old employees depend on young ones to plan and write speeches for them. They become slow in everything,why still keep someone at 65 in employment?
What is the interest of these two retirees, and why should retirees form an association to dupe their colleagues! The president made a campaign promise to revisit the issue. When are the youth going to get jobs if grand parents cling to offices!
let this be debated without emotion. retirement after 55 should be optional. there are people who have worked hard and retired at 40. there are others who need a bit more time. others have never been in formal employment & retired on there own terms. circumstances in life are different from one person to the next. i still see a lot of old people especially in govt jobs appointed by there relatives.
also distinguish between being a retiree and a pensioner.
I am 52. I concur with my colleague. Mr. Presido – 65 as retirement age is very very very very …ok. But make it optional: to retire at 55, 60, and 65 or between 55 and 65. People have retired then they start looking for contractual jobs.. what is the point….
Other countries they retire at 62 and 75.
Very few retirees leave beyond there 60th birthday
This is a gross misrepresentation of what the people think about the 65 years retirement threshold. Retirement age should be optional.