NMB UNVEILS PENSION SOLUTION FOR SELF-EMPLOYED TANZANIANS

Minister of State Prime Minister's Office (Labour, Employment, Youth and Persons with Disability), Deogratius Ndejembi stands next to a money safe box during the launch of a digital savings account targeting  self-employed people via 'NMB Jiwekee' product in Dar es Salaam recently. On the right is NMB Chief of Retail Banking, Filbert Mponzi and on the left is Kinondoni District Administrative Secretary, Stella Msofe.

NMB Bank has debuted a special savings and retirement service package for self-employed Tanzanians that guarantees them a secure financial future.

Trading as NMB Jiwekee, the novel solution unveiled on Monday in Dar es Salaam is expected to benefit many people in the informal sector where pension uptake is still very limited.

Retail Banking Chief Filbert Mponzi said the innovation has many benefits, including life insurance coverage that has indemnity of up to TZS 50 million.

“NMB Bank has had similar solutions to support Tanzanians and help our customers but this one is a bit different because it has a long term added value advantage,” Mr Mponzi noted.

He added that eligibility to join the service requires only commitment of the percentage to be deducted from whatever amount is deposited in the customer’s account.

And that is between one and 100 percent, the consumer banking expert explained, noting that the savings that are supposedly not to be withdrawn for at least five years will earn an annual interest rate of five percent.

“Preparing people for a prosperous and financially secure life after retirement by making savings from current earnings is what the NMB Jiwekee service is all about,” Mr Mponzi stated.

According to him, the retirement solution principally targets those not formally employed and whose futures are not secured by the national social security system.

This is the segment of the market comprising food vendors, bodaboda riders, fishers and fishmongers, all classes of general enterprises, farmers and peasants as well as livestock keepers to mention but a few.

Noting that NMB Jiwekee is for both customers and non-customers, Mr Mponzi said the lender has been the first to offer the digital service that gives customers a convenient and an affordable means of saving for their retirement.

“This solution has many benefits but the most important to us is the opportunity it offers people to save for future use and prepare them to retire comfortably,” he noted.

In case of death and permanent disability, the member of the savings club is compensated double the amount that has been saved whereas the minimum entitlement from life insurance is TZS 2 million.

Elated by its benefits, cabinet Minister Deogratius Ndejembi, who graced the launch of the service, called for massive education campaigns to not only enlighten people of its virtues but also to inform them of its availability.

Mr Ndejembi who handles the Labour, Employment, Youth and Persons with Disability docket in the Prime Minister’s Office said the government cannot shoulder everything but will always put in place supportive conditions for initiatives like the NMB Jiwekee service.

“The idea to prepare people financially for senior citizenship is a noble undertaking that augurs well with efforts of the government to tame income poverty in the country,” he noted, emphasizing like influencer Massoud Kimpanya that the introduction of the solution was long overdue.