Social security contributions and what to verify

The National Social Security Authority administers social security in Zimbabwe, funded by employer and employee contributions.

What NSSA covers

Retirement benefits, and the Accident Prevention and Workers' Compensation Scheme covering workplace injury and occupational disease.

Verify your contributions

A deduction on your payslip does not prove your employer remitted it. Check your NSSA record directly.

Gaps affect your eventual pension and your access to compensation if you are injured at work.

Why your wage record matters for retrenchment

The minimum retrenchment package is calculated as one month's salary per two years of service.

Two things drive that figure: your salary and your years of service. Your payslips evidence the first, and your start date the second.

Where a package is negotiated above the minimum, your wage history is also part of what supports the argument.

What to check monthly

1. That your salary matches what was agreed
2. That NSSA is deducted and remitted
3. That any allowances are itemised
4. That no unauthorised deduction appears

Currency

Zimbabwe has operated under multiple currency arrangements in recent years. If your pay involves more than one currency, be clear about the basis on which any severance or notice payment will be calculated and converted.

Get that in writing at offer stage rather than at termination.

Keep everything

• Every payslip
• Your contract
• Evidence of your start date
• NSSA statements
• Any variation to your terms

If contributions are missing

Raise it with your employer, then with NSSA directly.

Accumulated leave

Accumulated leave days form part of a retrenchment package alongside severance and payment in lieu of notice. Keep your own record of days taken and refused.