The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) unveiled an ambitious long-term strategy aimed at increasing its assets under management to Shs50 trillion by 2035, nearly doubling its portfolio from Shs22.1 trillion recorded as of June 30, 2024.NSSF Board Chairperson Dr. David Ogong said the Fund intends to achieve the target by expanding member savings, attracting more contributors from the informal sector, and making strategic investments in high-performing sectors such as real estate and equities. He noted that sustainable growth would depend on increasing public participation in long-term saving.
According to the Fund’s audited financial statements, members’ contributions rose by 12.2 percent, increasing from Shs1.72 trillion in the 2022/23 financial year to Shs1.93 trillion during the 2023/24 financial year. The improvement reflected growing confidence in the Fund and stronger contribution collections.Speaking while representing Gender, Labour and Social Development Minister Betty Amongi during the launch of a livelihood project in partnership with Dero Amon SACCO at Amunga Primary School in Okwang Sub-county, Otuke District, Dr. Ogong said Vision 2035 is built around three major goals.He explained that the strategy seeks to grow NSSF’s assets to Shs50 trillion, extend social security coverage to 50 percent of Uganda’s working population, and achieve a 95 percent customer service satisfaction rate by the year 2035. He emphasized that expanding social protection requires greater involvement of workers in the informal economy.Dr. Ogong urged informal sector workers to organize themselves through savings groups and cooperatives, saying this would make it easier for them to save consistently with NSSF. He added that the Fund intends to work closely with communities to encourage a stronger culture of saving for retirement.
The livelihood project launched in Otuke is expected to benefit more than 11,000 members of Dero Amon and Dero Kec SACCOs by supporting income-generating activities and providing agricultural inputs such as seeds to boost commercial production. Increased household incomes are expected to translate into higher savings with the Fund.Dr. Ogong noted that globally more than half of the population still lacks social protection, while in Uganda about 80 percent of workers are employed in the informal sector without adequate retirement savings.
Otuke County Member of Parliament Paul Omara welcomed the partnership, saying collaborative efforts between government, communities, and financial institutions are essential to expanding social security coverage and improving the welfare of Ugandan workers.
