NSSF celebrates 10 years of transparency and innovative members inclusivity

The Fund announced that the Annual Member Meeting, which is happening today September 27, 2022, is marking a decade of transparency, innovation and growth boosted by the regulatory policies of the URBRA.

As part of the URBRA regulations communication policies for retirement schemes to involve members in operations is the Annual General Meetings (AGMs), which prior to 2011, NSSF had never held in the 25 years of existence.

In a show of innovative compliance, NSSF has organised this year's meeting to be held virtually, following months of promoting the meeting across different communication platforms for members to register and prepare to participate.

URBRA was establishment at a time when the retirement sector was battling mismanagement scandals of member benefits and ignorance of members about the schemes. The Act set the bed rock for improving administration and investment with full cooperation and knowledge from members.

According to Lydia Mirembe, Manager, Corporate and Public Affairs, Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA), pensioners deserve to feel secure in entrusting schemes with their lifetime savings.

"Saving for retirement is an important and long-term commitment. Savers need assurance that their lifelong savings are safe and secure. There is no better way to give savers confidence than upholding the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance," she says.

She added that it is refreshing to see schemes engage members and that the next challenge is to build member capacity to get involved in the meetings.

"It is therefore reassuring to observe that Scheme AGMs are now standard practice. The next hurdle is how to sustain member interest and meaningful participation in the AGMs," she said.

URBRA also maintains that members stay informed through other processes and tools such as Member Information Handbooks, Annual (or more frequent) benefits statements, Annual report to members, Regular Newsletters, and periodic townhall meetings.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, physical AGMs became unsustainable which prompted URBRA to create guidelines for online AGMs which quickly became a favourite in the retirement sector.