You do not have to be over 60 years of age to be eligible for your National Social Security Fund (NSSF) benefits, the fund has clarified.

According to the government agency, there are instances where one can receive their NSSF payments before retirement age.

These are the Age or Retirement Benefit, Emigration Benefit, Withdrawal Benefit, Survivors Benefit, and the Invalidity Benefit.

Dr Christopher Khisa, the fund’s Communications Manager on Monday said for the retirement option, NSSF members who reach the age of 55 years, or when they ultimately retire from regular employment, are eligible for payment.

“It’s not a must for you to be over 60 to get your NSSF payment. If you were employed and unfortunately you get injured and cannot work again, you will be paid your Invalidity Benefit,” Khisa told local media.

The Emigration benefit on the other hand applies to NSSF members emigrating from Kenya to a country which is not a member of the East African Community, without the intention of returning to reside in Kenya.

“If you have been working and relocate to another country before the age of 60, you are paid the Emigration Benefit,” he said.

At the same time, relatives or dependants of a deceased NSSF member are entitled to the Survivors Benefit.

NSSF says on its website that the dependant relatives qualify for this benefit in the following order:

1.The husband/wife of the deceased; all children irrespective of age or gender, in the case where the husband or wife of the deceased is also deceased, or if the deceased was a single parent.

2.The parents of the deceased, if the deceased member was not married and had no children.

3.Sisters and brothers of the deceased, if the deceased was single, had no children, and both parents are deceased.

4.The guardian to the children of the deceased member, where both the parents are deceased and all the deceased members’ children are minors.

5.An applicant who has letters of administration, in case all dependants are exhausted.

Similarly, NSSF members who have been laid off or decide to leave formal work after the age of 50 are entitled to the Withdrawal Benefit.

“There must be documentation to prove that you are in the specific situation. For instance, if it is an accident you have been involved in and cannot work anymore, there needs to be medical evidence to support the claim,” Khisa said.

However, the communications manager noted that NSSF benefits are subject to thorough verification of the claimants’ applications.

“We first verify to ascertain that the claims we get are valid and that the complainants are the correct beneficiaries,” said Khisa, adding that most claims take time to be fully processed due to authentication.

“We have had cases of siblings who want to bar each other from getting benefits and that is why some of these claims take some time to be fully processed.”

To apply for an NSSF benefit, one needs to visit any of the fund’s offices countrywide with the respective supporting documents NSSF lists on the Benefits page of its website.

New NSSF rates

Last month, Kenyans began paying new NSSF monthly rates after a consensus between the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the State agency’s board of trustees.

Under the NSSF Act 2013, an employee is expected to contribute 6 per cent of their salaries to the NSSF and another six per cent to be matched by their employer.

An employee in Tier I – earning Ksh.6,000 per month – should be deducted Ksh.360 per month, and their employer to pay a similar amount making it a total of Ksh.720.

An employee in tier II who is earning Ksh.18,000 and above per month becomes the upper limit of contributions, paying Ksh.1,080, their employer should match up a similar amount to give a total of Ksh.2,160.

This is up from a flat rate of Ksh.200 that all the employees have been paying.