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Can an HIV positive person qualify for a pension? This was a questioned that was asked by one correspondent who claims to have contributed to the NSSA national pension scheme from 1994 to 2007.
A person’s HIV status does not affect a person’s eligibility for a retirement pension. It would only render a person eligible for an invalidity pension if it resulted in permanent inability to engage in any income-generating work.

Anyone who has contributed to the national pension scheme for more than 10 years, as this correspondent has, will qualify for a retirement pension on reaching the stipulated pensionable age. The normal pensionable age is 60, if one is retired, no longer working, at that age. If one is still working at 60 then the pension would be payable when that person retires or reaches the age of 65, whichever comes sooner.

The only exception to this retirement age is a person who retires at age 55 after working for at least seven of the previous 10 years in a job classified as arduous, such as agricultural work, heavy truck driving, quarrying or some mining and forestry jobs.

A person who has been so employed for seven of the previous 10 years can claim the pension at age 55, if no longer working then.
Any contributor or former contributor who has contributed to the national pension scheme for at least 120 months is eligible for a pension when they have retired and reached the requisite age or have reached the age of 65, whether retired or not.

It would be wise for a person who has not reached retirement age and last contributed to the scheme in 2007 to, if possible, obtain employment once more and resume contributing to the pension scheme.

That is because how much the pension will be depends on both the contribution period and the person’s insurable earnings in the last job in which he or she was contributing to the scheme.

By resuming work one would have the opportunity to extend one’s contribution period and improve the insurable earnings, on both of which the pension would be calculated.

Since the insurable earnings of someone who last contributed in 2007 would have been in Zimbabwe dollars, the pension that would be payable based on these earnings would be the minimum pension, which is currently $60.

If the person resumed work in a formal sector job where contributions were once again being made to the national pension scheme, then when retirement finally came, it would be the insurable earnings on which contributions were being made at that time that would be used in calculating the pension.

Whether that would in fact result in a higher pension would depend on what the individual was earning, as well as the contribution period.
A person who contributed continuously from October 1994 to September 2007 would have contributed for 13 years.

After working and contributing to the pension scheme for a further three years on a salary of $350 the pension would be more than $74.
The longer the contribution period and the higher the insurable earnings, the higher the pension would be. For instance, after 16 years of contributions on a salary of $700, the pension would be $149. After 17 years on the same salary it would be more than $158.

At present there is a maximum insurable earnings ceiling of $700, so the pension of someone earning more than $700 would remain the same as that of someone earning $700. However, with time that ceiling is likely to be raised.

Whether a person is HIV positive or not has no bearing on the retirement pension, the conditions for which are the same for everyone.
The key factors are the contribution period, the person’s age, which apart from those who retire early from arduous occupations, is 60 and the fact that the person is no longer employed.

After the age of 65 contributions to the pension scheme cease and the contributor should claim the retirement pension, regardless of whether or not he or she is still working.

To be eligible for a pension a contributor must have contributed for at least 10 years and must have reached the stipulated retirement age. Those who retire early for various reasons have to wait until they reach the required age before they are eligible for a retirement pension.

Of course, the person who enquired whether an HIV positive person qualifies for a pension may not have had the retirement pension in mind but may have been asking whether there is any other sort of pension that an HIV positive person qualifies for. There is an invalidity pension for contributors under the age of 60 who are permanently incapable of work as a result of illness or disability, whether the illness or disability be physical or mental.

Talking Social Security is published weekly by the National Social Security Authority as a public service. There is also a weekly radio programme on social security, PaMheponeNssa/Emoyeni le NSSA, at 6.50pm every Thursday on Radio Zimbabwe and Friday on National FM. Readers can e-mail issues they would like dealt with in this column to [email protected] or text them to 0772-307913. Those with individual queries should contact their local NSSA office or telephone NSSA on (04) 706523/5, 706545/9, or 799030/1.