The Director General of National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), Mohamed Fuaad Daboh has said that the institution recorded about 267,000 registered and insured members.
The Trust documented a 30 percent increase in members when compared with 2018 figures.
He made this statement recently in Freetown when recounting on the successes and challenges of the institution.
The aim of the institution is to administer a social security scheme that provides financial security to all employees in Sierra Leone in the form of old age benefits, invalidity benefits and survivors, based on social insurance principles.
Daboh added that the income contribution towards the institution from members has also increased to an average of Le59 billion monthly when compared to the average of Le32 billion in 2018 and 2019.
He cited that the delays in payments of benefit could be attributed to incomplete documentations, failure of employers to give timely contribute to the scheme, wrong record of beneficiary and lack of information update.
He added that update of records is required when status of members change, adding that for example if a member got married and got divorced the onus is on them to inform the institution, so that the amendment could be effected in their records.
He said that there were also reported cases of mismatch of names, adding that they have been able to overcome it.
Daboh also mentioned that there are established regional offices in the country to enhance effective service delivery, adding that in the past years with the help of the Judiciary of Sierra Leone, they have established the NASSIT court to specifically deal with related cases.
Explaining how contributing are been paid to NASSIT, he said that employers should deduct 5% from the earnings of an employee at the end of every month, as that employee’s Social Security contribution, and the employer should then add 10% of the employee’s earnings as his (employer) contribution on behalf of the employee; the total 15% contribution should be paid to NASSIT within fifteen days after the end of the month.
By George M.O. Williams