• The POBS minimum rises by US$20 a month from 1 October

  • NSSA has released beneficiary totals, with the number receiving the minimum still unclear

  • Zambia’s pension authority published the payout cost of a comparable increase

Harare — The National Social Security Authority (NSSA), a cash-rich State-run pay-as-you-go pension scheme will raise the minimum monthly pension under its Pension and Other Benefits Scheme (POBS) from US$70 to US$90 on 1 October 2026. Payments under the Accident Prevention and Workers Compensation Scheme (APWCS) will increase from US$100 to US$130, according to general manager Charles Shava.

A POBS beneficiary receiving the minimum will gain US$20 a month, or US$240 over a full year. The stated APWCS increase adds US$30 a month for an eligible beneficiary. Both adjustments create monthly obligations for the schemes.

NSSA paid a discretionary bonus with May pensions as it assessed a lasting adjustment to benefits. The October increase moves the higher minimum into regular payments, placing its cost within the funds’ continuing cash requirements.

POBS serves about 250,000 pensioners and surviving dependants, and APWCS serves about 8,000 beneficiaries. NSSA has not published the number receiving each minimum payment, the distribution of benefits above those levels or the projected increase in monthly outlays.

Those figures are necessary to assess the scale of the decision. If every POBS beneficiary received exactly US$20 more, additional payments would reach US$5 million a month and US$60 million over a full year. This is an illustration based on the total beneficiary count. Actual expenditure depends on the number affected and the final benefit schedule.

A 2025 actuarial valuation supported the increases and placed the POBS expense ratio at 13.95%. NSSA has reported investment income of about US$40 million and an asset base of approximately US$1.3 billion, compared with about US$300 million in 2022.

Asset growth strengthens the resources available to a pension fund over time. Monthly benefits require cash from contributions and investments, making collections, dividends, interest receipts and other available income central to the October increase. NSSA’s published announcement does not provide those scheme-level cash flows or the actuarial valuation’s projected benefit costs.

The contribution structure sets another boundary. Employers and employees each pay 4.5% of insurable earnings into POBS, and NSSA currently lists a US$700 monthly insurable earnings ceiling. A worker at that ceiling and their employer contribute a combined maximum of US$63 a month under the published schedule.

Higher investment returns can support pensions without an immediate increase in contribution rates. Their contribution to payments depends on the income the portfolio produces in cash and the need to retain capital for future beneficiaries. The balance between current payouts and future obligations requires more detail than an asset valuation provides.

Zambia’s National Pension Scheme Authority provides a regional comparison in reporting the cost of an increase. It raised its minimum monthly pension from K1,861 to K2,327 in 2026 and reported that 17,806 pensioners received the uplift. Payments to that group rose from K31.8 million in June to K39.6 million in July.

The Zambian figures show the affected population and the change in its monthly payout. Equivalent figures from NSSA would establish the recurring cost of Zimbabwe’s October increase and allow beneficiaries and contributors to track it against scheme income.

NSSA is developing a programme to extend retirement protection to more than three million informal-sector workers. Shava said the authority had conducted feasibility studies with technical assistance from the International Labour Organisation and examined schemes in Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda as part of its planning.

The proposed programme would reach informal workers and domestic employees who have historically been excluded from statutory POBS coverage. Its contribution and benefit rules remain under development, leaving NSSA to establish a payment model that accommodates irregular earnings and funds the retirement benefits promised.

Zambia’s pension authority allows self-employed members to pay daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually through channels that include mobile money. The approach offers a practical reference for contribution collection. NSSA’s published framework will need to show how often members can pay, what benefits they can earn and how missed contributions affect eligibility.

The first October payroll will establish whether beneficiaries receive the new minimum on schedule. NSSA can then publish the number whose payments increased, the additional monthly cost in each scheme, contribution collections and cash investment income. Those figures will show how the higher pension floor is being funded and provide a basis for assessing the proposed expansion of coverage.