NSSF gives employers 30 days to register remittances

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has given an ultimatum of 30 days to all employers in the country to register with the fund and remit social contributions to their employees.

The appeal is geared at strengthening compliance with the National Social Security Fund (Amendment) Act 2022 and increasing the number of savers.

According to Patrick Ayota, the acting Managing director of NSSF, the employer registration drive is in line with the new provisions in the NSSF Act.

The amended law, Ayota said, introduced mandatory contributions by all workers regardless of the enterprise or number of employees.

He noted that unlike in the past when the definition of an employer was ambiguous, the amended Act now provides clarity on who is eligible to pay NSSF for their employees.

“Given that the law came into force a year ago, employers should have registered and started remitting social security contributions for their employees effective January 7, 2022.

However, only 3,200 have registered with the Fund. We, therefore, call upon unregistered employers across the country to take advantage of the next 30 days to regularize their status with the Fund,” Ayota said.

The fund has partnered with public and private stakeholders in a bid to ensure that employers regularize their status with NSSF to avoid financial penalties.

Ayota told the media at Workers House in Kampala on Tuesday morning, that employers who complete registration will not suffer any financial penalties.

“These penalties kicked in from January 2022 when the National Social Security Fund (Amendment) Act was assented to by President Yoweri Museveni and published in the Uganda Gazette,” he added.

Ayota explained that Section 1(d) of the NSSF Act, as amended, defines an employer to include the Government, a company registered or incorporated under the Companies Act, 2012, a partnership registered under the Partnership Act, of 2010, and a trustee incorporated under the Trustees Incorporation Act, Cap. 165.

Since the introduction of mandatory contributions by all workers regardless of the size of the enterprise, over 3,200 employers with less than five employees have registered with the Fund.

Meanwhile, John Walugembe, the Executive Director of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises Uganda also urged their members to take advantage of the window offered by NSSF.

The National Social Security Fund is a quasi-government agency responsible for the collection, safekeeping, responsible investment, and distribution of retirement funds from employees of the private sector in Uganda who are not covered by the Government Retirement Scheme.