By Own Correspondent

THE ZB Financial Holdings (ZBFH) Group Pensioners Association is up in arms with the ZBFH Group Pension Fund over meagre monthly pay-outs as little as  US$1 to US$2 per month.

A letter dated December 6, 2024, laid bare the slave- like conditions being set by the ZBFH group. The pensioners petitioned the fund’s chairperson, Stanley Chikwati and took him to task over the dire situation.

“It is unheard of how a bank-run pension fund can anchor the estimated US$30 to US$50 bread index by paying its pensioners the equivalent of US$1 per month after the pensioner has worked for the bank for almost their entire working life?” the aggrieved pensioners said.

Some of the affected pensioners who spoke to our publication on condition of anonymity confirmed that the fund was paying paltry pay-outs.

“ZBFH Group Pension Fund is a proper institutional scam.  They get real money contributions from employees and when they retire, they are given local currency, which is equivalent to less than US$5, talking for myself,” one pensioner said on condition of anonymity.

“I used to contribute over US$500 per month and now that’s what I get after over 25 years of service. They have not responded to any of our requests and queries. Our efforts to go to the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) have also not yielded any response.”

ZBFH manages the pension fund internally, other organisations entrust pensions administration to mutual funds, it is just a bad situation.

The pensioners argue that even National Social Security Authority (NSSA), which is not a proper pension fund but just a social security safety net embroiled in much deeper problems, is managing to pay much better than ZBFH.

The association also criticised the fund’s handling of its inaugural annual general meeting (AGM) held on December 12, accusing it of failing to follow best practices.

Pensioners were reportedly notified of the AGM via text message only 12 days before the event, far below the recommended 21-to-30-day notice period.