Effects of the National Security Authority Pension Scheme Benefits on Elderly Women in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The study sought to determine the effects of the National Social Security Authority pension scheme benefits on elderly women in Harare, Zimbabwe. Its main objectives were to examine the different social security needs for women receiving a NSSA pension, assess the gender responsiveness of the National Social Security Authority scheme, examining the challenges faced by women in accessing pension benefits and to suggest strategies that can be used to address gender disparities in the National Social Security pension scheme. The study was informed by the liberal feminist theory which articulates that gender inequality is created by lowering access for women and girls to civil rights and allocation of social resources such as education and employment. Liberal feminism is centred on the social deconstruction of patriarchy, customary and legal constraints, that perpetuate inequality between the two sexes. It is concerned with understanding the gender system or the patriarchal nature of inherited traditions and institutions. A qualitative method research design incorporating face to face interviews, focus group discussions, document review and in-depth interviews were used on a sample size of thirty elderly women receiving pension from the National Social Security Authority, ten National Social Security Authority key informants, ten women comprising of Power of Touch institution members. Key informants from Power of Touch were consulted for more information. The data was collected in Houghton Park, a medium density suburb, National Social Security Authority offices and Power of Touch offices, all in Harare, through interviews and focus group discussions. The study discovered that the National Social Security Authority pension scheme is not gender responsive. When the current benefit structure was set up, the traditional roles of men in the family as primary wage earners and women as primary child care providers were predominant. The research also discovered that National Social Security Authority responsiveness to the needs of women is low. It does not employ any processes that are specific to women and therefore responds to their needs in the same way that they would respond to their male counterparts. The study recommends that National Social Security Authority mainstream gender in its pension scheme benefits and adjusts some of the laws to be more responsive to the social security needs of women. It further recommends that the National Social Security Authority pension program should have features that help address retirement security issues for women.