KAMAYOYO said the BUYZED Campaign Team has welcomed the new National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) (Amendment) Act of 2023 which was signed into law by Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia and is optimistic that the eligible beneficiary Zambians will endeavor to enjoy their facility as prescribed by the relevant statute which commenced on 17th April, 2023. NAPSA as a national social security scheme is so far proving to be a financial and investment giant in fostering Zambia’s economic development going by its effective participation in various sectors and positive care towards its clients through appropriate and timely amendments to the NAPSA Act.
The NAPSA Partial Withdraw facility is somewhat synonymous to a household financial stimulus package against poverty that has adversely affected several local communities for a while. According to the 2015 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS), ‘‘overall poverty was 54.4 per cent which was computed from adding a 40.8 per cent extremely poor people to 13.6 per cent moderately poor persons.’’ Therefore, the new law will contribute to ending poverty in most households in the local communities, and ultimately help boost home-grown entrepreneurship, improve consumer welfare and standard of living at household level, said Kamayoyo.
Kamayoyo Kelvin, a Zambian Economist, Scholar and BuyZed Technical Advisor also termed the new law as an exclusive household financial vaccine against poverty before and after retirement for many eligible beneficiary Zambians including their families and friends around them. Off course it is an exclusive household financial vaccine that can enable someone who is still in active employment to start up a business either alone or in partnership with a friend or family member who is not employed or is self-employed and grow in business together in perpetuity. We therefore appeal to all those intending to enter into business ventures using the partial withdraws to extensively consult and understand the type of business or market they are entering into while bearing in mind that this facility is a one-off, hence the need to avoid making regrettable business or investment decisions.
He noted that the NAPSA Partial Withdraw also known as ‘‘Pre-Retirement Benefit’’ is a new type of financial vaccine that will protect Zambians against poverty and suffering which has been chronically infectious in many local communities. The NAPSA Partial Withdraw will help boost money circulation in the domestic economy and eventually help many Zambians to realize their dreams of owning a personal business or entering into a joint venture for wealth creation.
Apparently, in the last 18 months the Zambian economy has recorded unprecedented domestic financial stimulus packages or economic and financial vaccines against poverty through increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) funds and now the new NAPSA Partial Withdraw facility to all qualifying citizens, said Kamayoyo. These financial support facilities will incontrovertibly give strong momentum to Zambia’s efforts in attaining the ‘‘Vision 2030’’ to which we as a country; ‘‘aspire to live in a strong and dynamic middle-income industrial nation that provides opportunities for improving the well-being of all, embodying values of socio economic justice.”
The Country’s Vision 2030 was set in 2006 comprising of the three priority sectors namely: (i) economic growth and wealth creation; (ii) social investment and human development; and (iii) creating an enabling environment for sustainable social economic development. Undoubtedly, the Partial Withdraw facility will help many Zambians to create personal wealth and be main drivers of the middle-income industrial nation by 2030 and beyond.
Kamayoyo, observed that the new National Pension Scheme Authority (Amendment) Act of 2023 provides among such other entitlements a one-off partial withdrawal at 20 percent of total contributions, and access to the retirement benefits by beneficiaries who have so far made a 60 months’ contributions to NAPSA or have attained the age of 45. Therefore, for one to access this partial retirement benefit facility one has to undergo a certain process and satisfy all the prescribed criteria and procedures pursuant to the provisions under the Act. This, therefore, calls for some level of nation-wide sensitization and outreach to educate the general public and beneficiaries about the Partial Withdraw claim processes and procedures in order to avoid potential frustrations associated with lack of awareness and inadequate knowledge about the facility.
Kamayoyo added that it is against this background that it is even more compelling now to convene a ‘‘National Retirees Conference, 2023’’ under the theme: ‘‘You Can Withdraw 20% of Your Retirement Package’’ so that the general public and the beneficiaries alike could be sensitized on the contents and implications of the new law. It is also our considered view that NAPSA in collaboration with Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management, Zambia National Pensioners Association, Civil Servants Allied Workers Union of Zambia, Zambia Federation of Employers, inter alia, can spearhead the hosting of this firstever Retirees Conference.
He stressed that the firstever Retirees Conference shall be expected to create a platform for members of the general public, potential beneficiaries including their families to get more details about the new law and also discover other supporting institutions if one was to make a decision to access the facility so that the monies could be used wisely or in a productive way. Again this Conference should also help to recognize and mainstream the role of financial literacy and psychosocial counselling during the claim process of partial withdraw so that before an individual makes a final decision at least adequate consultations could have been made with either the employer, fellow employees, family, or existing social support institutions within the community.
Kamayoyo further argued that there was need to increase financial literacy campaigns and investment promotion activities to ensure that beneficiaries of Partial Withdraws have the necessary skills and knowledge to efficiently manage their businesses and create wealth for future sustainability. He suggests that NAPSA establish a business development and support services unit that would provide tailor-made investment mentorship programs to further support retirees and those that will access the pre-retirement packages.
Furthermore, Kamayoyo has urged commercial banks in the country to consider innovating flexible and affordable financial credit products for customers before they could forfeit most of them to the NAPSA Partial Withdraw facility. The NAPSA Partial Withdraw gives an individual possible options for where to access capital financing for investment of choice. He argued that though in the short-run this facility might be overlooked by some financial sector players, it is indeed in the long-run capable of posing effective competition on the downstream market of available credit for one to tap from. In other words, the NAPSA Partial Withdraw facility as an alternative source of financing is therefore likely to stimulate competition on the relevant downstream market of money lending business as some category of customers now would have a perfect and flexible substitute to the loans being offered by commercial banks and micro financial institutions. Customers now have another alternative choice.
