BUJUMBURA September 28th (ABP) – The National Social Security Institute (INSS) and the National Authority of Occupational Pensions and Risks (ONPR) have agreed to regulate the relationship of collaboration for the purpose of granting benefits to their policyholders and their entitled.
According to Article 1 of the Convention signed jointly by the two institutions, the purpose of the latter is “to make the rules for aggregating periods of insurance with a view to determining the rights of policyholders and their entitled in respect of pensions provided by INSS and ONPR”.
Paragraph 2 of the same Article states that this agreement concerns “policyholders who successively change sector by moving from under statute to the sub-contract and vice versa”. According to Article 7 of that Convention, the benefits covered by the two bodies are the pension and the old-age allowance, the early retirement pension, the invalidity pension, the pension and the survivors’ allowance and the contributions to the Civil Service Mutual (MFP).
To be eligible for the old-age pension, the policyholder must have reached the age of 60 and have at least 15 years of insurance. With regard to the early pension, this can be granted five years before the normal age of eligibility for the retirement pension and when the policyholder is suffering from premature wear noted by the medical adviser of the last body insurer.
For the protection, continuity and retention of entitlement to benefits, the periods of insurance completed in each sector shall be aggregated for the purposes of determining the entitlements opened under the provisions of each scheme. The agreement specifies that in the event that the policyholder has completed a sufficient period of contribution to be able to claim continuous benefits in each organization, the totalization of careers will not be necessary and each agency will award them the corresponding pension for the period during which they would have contributed on their own.
