The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has declared a record 22.53% interest rate for the 2025/2026 financial year, more than doubling last year’s 13.5% payout and marking the highest interest declaration in the Fund’s history.
The interest was announced on Thursday by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi during the Fund’s annual interest declaration, delivering one of the biggest returns ever earned by Ugandan workers under the country’s mandatory retirement savings scheme.
The declaration means eligible members’ savings for the financial year ended June 30, 2026, will earn 22.53% interest, with the Fund set to credit about Shs5.44 trillion to members’ accounts. Last year, NSSF credited about Shs2.5 trillion after declaring a 13.5% interest rate.
Musasizi said the exceptional return reflects the Fund’s strong investment performance and prudent management of members’ savings.
“This year’s declaration demonstrates the strength of the Fund’s investment strategy and our commitment to ensuring workers earn meaningful returns on their retirement savings,” Musasizi said.
The announcement crowns an extraordinary financial year for NSSF, whose Managing Director Patrick Ayota had earlier revealed that the Fund’s performance had surpassed previous records across several key indicators.
According to Ayota, the Fund’s total income jumped from Shs3.51 trillion in the previous financial year to Shs6.51 trillion, representing an increase of about 85%. During the same period, assets under management grew from Shs26 trillion to Shs32.8 trillion, cementing NSSF’s position as East Africa’s largest social security fund by assets.
“When you put those numbers side by side, you notice that contributions minus benefits paid left the Fund with a net cash inflow of about Shs870 billion from membership activity alone to add to its investment pool,” Ayota said.
The Fund’s record earnings were largely driven by strong returns from government securities, rising dividend income from listed companies, gains from regional stock markets and favourable currency movements across East Africa.
Interest income from government bonds alone reached Shs3.49 trillion, while dividend income increased to Shs369 billion. NSSF also benefited from strong rallies on stock exchanges in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, which significantly boosted the value of its equity investments.
The 22.53% declaration represents a dramatic leap from last year’s 13.5% interest rate, which had already been celebrated as one of the Fund’s strongest performances in recent years.
The latest payout also extends a remarkable recovery in NSSF’s returns over the past six years. The Fund declared 12.5% for the 2020/2021 financial year before interest fell to 9.65% in 2021/2022. It later improved to 10% in 2022/2023, rose further to 11.5% in 2023/2024 and climbed to 13.5% in 2024/2025 before reaching this year’s record 22.53%.
The steady improvement highlights how the Fund has recovered from the period when global financial markets were affected by economic disruptions, with recent years benefiting from stronger investment returns and improved market conditions.
Before Thursday’s declaration, analysts had projected that NSSF could announce an interest rate above 14% after the Fund reported an 85% surge in total income. The final figure of 22.53% exceeded those expectations and set a new benchmark for the institution.
The declaration will provide a significant boost to workers’ retirement savings. A member with qualifying savings of Shs10 million would earn about Shs2.253 million in interest, while someone with Shs60 million would earn approximately Shs13.518 million, subject to the Fund’s official interest calculation methodology.
NSSF currently serves millions of members across Uganda as the country’s mandatory retirement savings scheme for eligible private sector workers. Under the law, employers and employees make monthly contributions, which the Fund invests in government securities, equities, real estate and other approved investments to grow members’ savings until retirement or other qualifying benefits become payable.
