NAPSA (the National Pension Scheme Authority) is Zambia's compulsory pension scheme for employees. Registration depends on whether you are an employee or self-employed.
If you are an employee: Your employer is responsible for registering you with NAPSA. They must register with NAPSA within one month of hiring their first employee, then register each employee through the official eNAPSA portal at enapsa.napsa.co.zm. Your employer will receive login credentials by SMS. Once registered, your employer deducts 5% of your gross salary as your contribution and adds their own 5% employer contribution. You can verify that your employer is actually remitting by checking your statement on the NAPSA member portal.
If you are self-employed: NAPSA registration is voluntary for you. You can register directly via the eNAPSA portal and arrange to make your own contributions (the combined rate is 10% of your earnings, split equally between employee and employer portions).
Contributions and benefits: Contributions are capped at an earnings ceiling that changes each January. To confirm the current ceiling for 2026, check the official notice on napsa.co.zm rather than relying on an older figure. Once you have contributed for 180 months (15 years), you qualify for a monthly pension at retirement (typically age 55–65); if you have fewer than 180 months, you receive a one-off lump sum. Keep your beneficiary and next-of-kin details up to date with NAPSA to avoid delays in settling survivor and funeral benefits [National Pension Scheme Act No. 40 of 1996].