The Bill proposing to join all pension funds in Tanzania into two entities is now the Public Service Social Security (PSSS) Act 2018 after the Tanzanian government signed it into law. That means that the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will serve all employees in the public and private sectors.
Tanzania had five social security funds namely: the Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF), the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Local Authorities Pension Fund (LAPF), PPF Pension Fund, and the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF).
The presence of the new act, therefore, means that the PPF Pensions Fund Act Cap 372 Public Service Retirement Benefit Act Cap 371 the GEPF Retirement Benefits Fund Act Cap 51 the LAPF Pensions Fund Act Cap 407 will be repealed.
The PSSS Act
The Act offers survivor and unemployment benefits, a new provision that was not in the former pension funds.
Survivor benefits will be paid to the dependents of the deceased. Additionally, the Act specifies that 60 years will be the mandatory retirement age while the age for voluntary retirement will be 55 years.
Under the new Act, employees who move from the public sector to the private sector will have their pension membership changed to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) while employees who are members of NSSF working in the public sector will move to the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF).
