–Finance Minister Plans Major NASSCORP Talks as Government Confronts More Than a Decade of Unpaid Obligations
MONROVIA, LIBERIA — Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has announced plans for a major engagement with the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) to confront longstanding pension and social-security obligations owed by the Government of Liberia and other employers.
Ngafuan made the disclosure Monday, August 17, during Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung’s working visit to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, revealing that the government intends to bring NASSCORP, affected government institutions and other stakeholders together for what he described as a comprehensive discussion of the challenges surrounding social-security obligations.
The planned engagement comes amid Ngafuan’s acknowledgment that government has accumulated obligations to NASSCORP over many years, with some of the defaults dating back more than a decade.
“Government has been defaulting over time, for some years, that dates back to more than a decade,” Ngafuan told the Vice President.
He said the administration is now determined to confront the problem rather than allow it to continue accumulating.
“We intend to take the bull by the horn,” Ngafuan said.
‘Retirement Should Not Be a Death Sentence’
Ngafuan said the issue goes beyond government accounting and directly affects the future welfare of workers who contribute to the national social-security system throughout their working lives.
He said the government wants Liberians to approach retirement with confidence rather than anxiety over whether they will receive the benefits to which they are entitled.
“We don’t want a situation where our people would dread retirement. We want them to look to retirement,” Ngafuan said.
He went further, using unusually stark language to describe the consequences of the pension problem.
“Retirement should not be like a death sentence,” he said.
Ngafuan said he has sometimes found retirement ceremonies troubling because of the financial and social uncertainty confronting some retirees after years of service.
The Minister’s remarks place pension reform within the broader public-finance agenda of the Boakai administration and suggest that resolving accumulated social-security obligations could become an important component of the government’s fiscal planning.
Government Plans ‘One-Stop-Shop’ Talks
The Finance Ministry intends to bring together NASSCORP and representatives of affected government institutions for what Ngafuan described as a “one-stop-shop conversation.”
He said several public institutions are experiencing NASSCORP-related challenges, including the University of Liberia, the Liberia Revenue Authority and various ministries and public corporations.
The objective, he explained, is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the problem rather than address individual cases in isolation.
“We want to be able to have this panoramic discussion and to understand all the challenges,” Ngafuan said.
The Minister said the findings from the engagement would subsequently be presented to Vice President Koung and President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., paving the way for what he described as potentially major decisions.
“Then we’ll bring it up to you and the President. We have to take some big decisions,” Ngafuan said.
Private Sector Also Under Scrutiny
The pension problem, according to Ngafuan, is not confined to government.
He said private-sector entities that fail to meet their NASSCORP obligations are also contributing to the difficulties experienced by Liberian workers.
“It will not only be for the public sector, the private sector entities that are not meeting their NASSCORP obligation,” he said.
Ngafuan said employees in the private sector are also being deprived of the benefits associated with proper social-security contributions when employers fail to meet their obligations.
The proposed government-wide engagement with NASSCORP is therefore expected to examine the problem across both the public and private sectors.
NASSCORP is responsible for administering Liberia’s National Pension Scheme and providing social-security protection to workers. Its own official materials state that the government is required under the NASSCORP Act to make budgetary allocations toward accumulated pension liabilities owed to the Corporation.
Problem Has Deep Historical Roots
The government’s pension challenge is not new.
NASSCORP’s legal framework provides for the transfer of the former Civil Service Pension Program to the Corporation and requires government budgetary allocations for accumulated pension liabilities. The Corporation assumed administration of the government pension program following reforms that culminated in the 2017 NASSCORP Act.
NASSCORP has previously identified delayed government payments as a longstanding challenge. Its historical reporting has called for government to prioritize settlement of outstanding commitments to the Corporation.
The issue has also featured in previous government discussions with public-sector workers. In a 2021 memorandum of understanding, the government acknowledged challenges involving the transition of public employees into the NASSCORP pension system, data integration, enrollment and delays in processing benefits. The agreement called for a technical working team involving NASSCORP, MFDP and the Civil Service Agency to address the problems.
2027 Budget Adds Urgency
The renewed focus on pensions comes as MFDP prepares Liberia’s 2027 national budget, with the budget process already launched in July and the submission deadline set for October 31.
Ngafuan said the Ministry intends to conduct intensive consultations with government sectors before finalizing the budget, including engagements with the security sector, education, energy and gender.
The NASSCORP engagement is expected to become another important component of those fiscal discussions as the government determines how to address its accumulated obligations while balancing competing demands for limited public resources.
The timing could make the 2027 budget a critical test of whether the administration can begin converting its stated commitment to pension reform into concrete financial provisions.
Workers’ Future at Stake
For Liberian workers, the issue is ultimately about whether years of contributions and public service will translate into reliable social protection after retirement.
NASSCORP’s National Pension Scheme provides pension benefits for eligible insured employees upon retirement, while its broader mandate covers social-security and welfare protection for workers in Liberia.
The Corporation also warns employees to report employers who fail to pay contributions, pay them late or fail to pay the correct amounts on their behalf.
Ngafuan’s announcement therefore potentially opens a new chapter in Liberia’s long-running pension debate—one centered not merely on individual arrears but on the government’s accumulated obligations, employer compliance and the sustainability of the national social-security system.
‘Big Decisions’ Ahead
Ngafuan’s message was clear: the government can no longer afford to allow pension obligations to remain unresolved.
The planned engagement with NASSCORP is expected to bring together the relevant institutions, establish the scale and nature of the outstanding obligations and identify the measures required to address them.
For an administration seeking to strengthen public financial management, the issue presents both a fiscal challenge and a test of its commitment to workers who depend on the social-security system.
As Ngafuan put it, the government must move from acknowledging the problem to taking action.
“We have to take some big decisions,” he said.
The coming NASSCORP engagement—and ultimately the 2027 budget—could determine whether those decisions become the beginning of a serious effort to clear Liberia’s pension obligations and restore confidence in retirement security.
For breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive reports from Liberia and around the world, follow The Liberian Post on Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576017166570) and X, formerly Twitter (https://x.com/LiberianPost).
