After a month of calling for entries, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has received 172 submissions for consideration in this year’s Friends with Benefits TV show in which the winning contestant will walk away with 30 million shillings cash prize.
The Show is a financial literacy edutainment initiative aimed at promoting a savings and investments culture amongst Ugandans.
It profiles former NSSF members who received and invested or used their NSSF benefits to improve their lives, those of their families and even the communities they live in.
16 stories out of the 172 entries will be selected to feature on the TV show that begins in January 2018, following a vigorous verification process.
“We have reviewed all 172 submissions and shortlisted 37 of which we are now visiting on-ground to verify the accuracy of the information submitted before selecting the top 16 stories,” said Barbra Arimi, NSSF’s Head of Marketing &Communications.
This year’s submissions include success stories ranging from investments in agriculture, Information technology, medicine, tourism, real estate, education and lifesaving investments.
“Some of the stories are really inspirational showing how you can build wealth from even very low earnings and have good financial literacy lessons that all Ugandans ought to emulate. Other stories show resilience in fighting life threatening diseases and how you can bounce back to live a better life,” Arimi explained.
She added that the stories submitted touched most of the benefits the Fund offers which are ; the Age benefit given to a member who has reached 55 years; Survivors Benefit; given to a surviving relative of a member who has died; Withdrawal Benefit paid to a member who attains 50 years if he or she has not been employed for a period of one year; Exempted Employment paid to members that join employment categories that are exempted from NSSF contributions;Emigration Grant paid to a contributing member who has been working in Uganda and is leaving the country permanently; and Invalidity Benefit paid to a contributing member who has lost his/ her earning capacity due to physical or mental incapacitation as will be certified by a medical doctor.
NSSF pays out approximately Shs22bn to qualifying members per month. According to figures released during its Annual Members Meeting held earlier in September, the Fund’s annual benefits payment increased by 16%, to shs278billion last financial year from Shs239billion paid in FY2015/2016.
