Your social insecurity

For paying nearly a quarter of each employee’s monthly salary into the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), one would think that private sector businessmen would be ensuring a nice retirement package and healthcare coverage for those working for them. Why then is it so common for retiree savings to run out at 68, and for hospitals to threaten to deny them services? This Executive investigation dives into the inner workings of Lebanon’s social insecurity. The money pit The NSSF, Lebanon’s largest insurance provider, more commonly known as the daman, manages $4.7 billion in private sector contributions and offers coverage for approximately 30 percent of the Lebanese population. Other than end-of-service indemnities, the daman also offers healthcare coverage and family allowance payments. To deliver these services — or attempt to deliver these services — the law stipulates that the NSSF should receive an amount equal to 23.5 percent of every employee’s