By The bio-metric Pensioner registration exercise the National Social Security Authority of Zimbabwe (NSSA) embarked on late last year is still ongoing despite indications that the process’s targeted deadline lapsed in September this year.
In a statement, NSSA said there was still need to extend the deadline to the process in order to capture the whole web of pensioners dotted around the country.
By Michael Gwarisa
The NSSA embarked on an extensive bio-metric registration outreach from November 2016, to September 2017. The bio-metric registration, which involves the use of one’s biological features, is meant to ensure that pension pay-outs are paid to deserving beneficiaries by eliminating ghost beneficiaries.
“In the national outreach, NSSA engaged local leadership who included chiefs and headmen to assist the team that were deployed to remote areas that are hard to reach. The teams were also deployed to high traffic places such as growth points and shopping centres,” said NSSA.
“Awareness programs included adverts on Radio and TV and publication of names in the print media of those who had not registered. All this was done to ensure that as many pensioners as possible were registered before the end of the September 30 deadline.
“Those who failed to register had their pension pay-outs suspended from October 2017 payroll.
This is also the same month in which NSSA increased the minimum monthly pension pay-outs by 33% from $60 to $80. Although the outreach campaign ceased on 30 September 2017, NSSA advises customers that bio-metric registration is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, NSSA also said those with pension pay-outs which were suspended due to late registrations and delayed claims should visit the nearest NSSA offices to register.
“Suspended payments will be reinstated and backdated to the month of October 2017 upon bio-metric registration and will become current going forward.”
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