The Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) has instructed over 65 provident Funds to release a portion of savings to their member who are in intensive care units (ICUs) battling Covid-19.
Ms Rita Nansasi, the director Legal Affairs at URBRA, says the law offers a window where members with health complications can access some of their savings to pay off their medical bills.
“This should not be confused with the midterm access people are talking about. The invalidity benefit is what one gets when someone is in the ICU. The next of kin has to approach the company with documentation of the hospital bill and under this window, a member can access the money to pay for Covid-19 bills,” Ms Nansasi said in an interview on Friday.
She asked beneficiary members to instruct their next of kin who should report with the medical bills as proof of hospitalization before the money can be paid out.
Last week, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) announced that they are now allowing its members to access part of their savings to cater for Covid-19 medical expenses.
NSSF has since last year been swarmed by request from both members and the public to create a provision in which members, whose income sources have been affected by Covid-19, access part of their benefits to shore them out of the hard times.
A provision, under which certain members would access at least 20 per cent of their benefits before hitting the required retirement age, had been considered under the amended NSSF Act but the Bill, which was passed by Parliament in February, has not been signed by the President.