By For years, the Ugandan diaspora has been encouraged to send money home, buy land, build houses and invest. Now, Uganda wants them to do something else with their earnings: save for retirement at home.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is turning its attention to Ugandans living and working abroad through Smartlife Flexi, its voluntary savings product, as it seeks to attract up to one million diaspora savers. The Fund is also developing a dollar-denominated savings product, alongside housing opportunities for members.
It is a significant shift. A Ugandan earning in Nairobi, London, Dubai or Washington does not necessarily have an employer contributing to NSSF Uganda. The voluntary scheme is therefore designed as an additional savings option rather than a replacement for any mandatory pension contributions made in the country where they work.
And Ugandans abroad do not have to wait for the proposed dollar product to participate.
NSSF’s Smartlife Flexi is already open to Ugandans living outside the country, allowing them to make voluntary contributions through NSSF’s Diaspora Connect service.
The entry point is deliberately low, with contributions starting from Shs5,000, while savers can choose how frequently they contribute and what they are saving towards.
But for someone earning in dollars, pounds or Kenyan shillings, the bigger question is not simply whether they can save in Uganda. It is whether they should.
