Informal Sector: Government Planning Pension Scheme For Self-employed

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news August 4, 2021

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, about 80% of Uganda’s labour force works in the informal sector.

However, most of these people feed hand-to-mouth (‘’mere ya leero’’) that at the end of the day, there is very little left to save for the future.

This category is affected so much in old age and currently, a few of them depend on the government for cash handouts.

News of relief, however, comes as the government is proposing to set up a new pension scheme. This scheme majorly targets people working in the informal sector.

Under the proposed Uganda National Micro-pension Scheme, members will decide how much they will want to save.

According to the plan, individuals will contribute any amount, any time, from as low as shs5000 to millions.

More to that, members will have several platforms through which they can contribute to the scheme. Some of these include the use of mobile money services.

They will also be free to remit contributions to the scheme through SACCOS of financial credit institutions.

The pension scheme will provide a simple, easy, secure, and low-cost way for everyone to voluntarily accumulate micro-savings for their old age.

The Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) is developing the idea together with the ministries of labour and finance.

Unlike the current pension schemes that are limited to salaried staff, the proposed scheme targets anybody willing to make contributions.

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