Claim a civil service pension

What you'll usually need

Tick things off as you gather them. Your ticks are saved on this phone only.

• The pension application forms your ministry's HR office gives you, about 3 months before you retire
• Your national ID or passport, and your EC (employee) number
• Your bank account details, so the pension can be paid into your account
• Your birth certificate, which should already be on your service file
• For survivors: the widow's or child's pension form (from PSC head office or any PSC provincial or district office), the death certificate, your marriage certificate if you are the husband or wife, the children's birth certificates, and your own ID and bank details
• Ask your HR office or the PSC office for the exact list, because the PSC doesn't publish a full checklist. Take originals and certified copies.

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Steps

1. Check your retirement age. If you were appointed on pensionable terms before 1 January 2025, your retirement age is 65. You can choose to keep working until 70. If you were appointed on or after 1 January 2025, your retirement age is 70. From 60, you can ask to retire early, giving 3 months' notice.
2. Expect a letter. About 4 months before you retire, your ministry should write to you with your retirement date.
3. Fill in the forms with HR. About 3 months before you retire, your HR office should start your pension claim and give you the forms. Fill them in carefully and attach everything they ask for. Missing or wrong papers are the main reason pensions are delayed.
4. HR sends your claim. About 2 months before you retire, HR should send your forms to the PSC Pensions Department. The Salary Service Bureau (SSB) sends its part about 1 month before you retire.
5. Your pension is paid the month after you retire. If nothing arrives, go to your HR office first, then to your nearest PSC provincial office.
6. Claim from NSSA too. Civil servants also belong to the NSSA pension scheme, so you can usually get an NSSA pension as well. You claim it yourself, separately. See the NSSA guide.
7. If a civil servant dies while still working, tell their HR office straight away. HR should tell the SSB within a month and send the survivor's pension claim within 2 months.
8. If a pensioner dies, tell the PSC straight away and apply for the survivor's pension at the nearest PSC office. Don't withdraw any pension paid into the account after the death. It must be paid back.
9. If your claim is stuck, start with your ministry's HR office. If that doesn't help, contact the PSC Inspectorate at head office on Call 0242 700881. Provincial numbers are on the PSC FAQ page. If a government office treats you unfairly or won't act, you can complain to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.

Good to know

• The PSC's Pensions Department works out and pays pensions, children's pensions, lump sums (commutation), gratuities and refunds of contributions. The Salary Service Bureau (SSB) is the PSC's payroll office.
• PSC head office: 6th Floor, Social Security Centre, corner of Sam Nujoma Street and Julius Nyerere Way, Harare. Phone Call 0242 700881, email Email feedback@psc.gov.zw. The PSC also has offices in every province.
• You can buy back gaps in your service, such as unpaid leave, study leave or broken service, so they count towards your pension. Apply through your head of department. The money can come off your salary each month.
• Police, army and prison officers have their own pension rules and retirement ages. Ask your service's headquarters or HR office how to claim.
• The PSC also pays state disability pensions, the War Victims Pension and the War Veterans Pension.
• The PSC is moving pay and pensions to a new system, GovPay, with electronic payslips. If you can't get your payslip, ask at a PSC office.
• In 2026 the PSC said long delays usually come from incomplete or wrong documents. It has also been running retirement planning workshops in the provinces.