The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has announced that its earnings have increased by 15% from Shs2.2 trillion to Shs2.53 trillion for the Financial Year that ended June 30, 2024.
Addressing the media at the NSSF Annual Media Roundtable on Tuesday, NSSF Managing Director Patrick Ayota attributed the growth to an increase in interest income earnings, dividend income as well as real estate income.
“Income from all three asset classes we invest in increased this last Financial Year compared to the previous one. Interest income increased from UGX 2 trillion to 2.34 trillion, dividend income from our listed and unlisted equities increased from UGX 145.1 billion to 175 billion and income from our Real Estate investments also increased from UGX 11.9 billion to 13.3 billion,” Ayota said.
He added that the Fund’s performance mirrors an improvement in the overall investment environment in Uganda and across East Africa.
“Our analysis shows that although it was not without challenges across East Africa, it was a better year compared to the Financial Year 2022/2023. The Ugandan economy recovered and recorded a 6% growth in GDP, inflation remained under control, regional stock markets recovered and the interest rates slightly increased,” he said.
In addition to growth in its revenue, the Fund had a better year across other key performance indicators, including growth in assets under management, contributions collected, benefits paid, and cost management.
“During the year, we recorded a milestone in asset growth, achieving our target of growing the Fund to UGX 20 trillion by 2025 more than a year in advance. Our assets under management as of the end of June 2024 stood at UGX 22.13 trillion, an increase of 19.2% compared to the previous year. We still hold our top position as the largest Fund by value in East Africa,” Ayota said.
He says the Fund’s member contributions increased by 12.2% from Shs1.72 trillion in the Financial Year 2022/23 to Shs1.93 trillion in the Financial Year 2023/24 and the cost of administration dropped from 1.02 to 1.00% of total assets.
Ayota explained that the reduction was driven by a drop in the number of people who claimed benefits from 48,115 in the Financial Year 2022/23 to 44,250 in the Financial Year 2023/24. For instance, the mid-term benefit payments dropped from Shs272.2 billion to Shs176.6 billion.