SSNIT is the best pension scheme for workers – Ofori-Tenkorang. The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, says the scheme is the best pension scheme for Ghanaian workers.
He explained that the management of SSNIT has been carrying out indexation to meet the rising rate of inflation.
This, he said, is part of the reasons why the scheme is best for workers.
“SSNIT undertakes indexation every year and the indexation matches inflation. SSNIT is aware of inflationary effects, and so we compensate for inflation,” he said during the Ghana National Association of Teachers’ (GNAT) Investment Forum held at the University of Ghana on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
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“I will urge people not to throw the baby out with the bad water. The narrative is that SSNIT is not good, people connived with their employers not to pay their SSNIT, the SSNIT scheme is the best that you can ever get anywhere else as far as pensions is concerned. If you don’t join to contribute, you are harming yourself,” he added.
He further indicated that the management is going to roll out a programme to educate people on the need to join SSNIT.
“We are going to roll out a programme to get people to come and join SSNIT because it is the best thing they can do for themselves,” he said.
Background information on SSNIT
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is a statutory public Trust charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 Act 766 with the administration of Ghana’s Basic National Social Security Scheme. Its mandate is to cater for the First Tier of the Three-Tier Pension Scheme. The Trust is currently the largest non-bank financial institution in Ghana.
The primary responsibility of the Trust is to replace part of lost income of workers in Ghana due to Old Age, Invalidity or Death of a member where dependents receive lump sum payment. It is also responsible for the payment of Emigration benefit to a non-Ghanaian member who is leaving Ghana permanently.
The Pension Scheme as administered by SSNIT has an active membership of over 1.6 million as at January, 2021 with over 226,000 pensioners who regularly receive their monthly pensions from SSNIT.
THE TRUST
The Trust was established in 1972 under NRCD 127 to administer the National Social Security Scheme. Prior to 1972, the Scheme was administered jointly by the then Department of Pensions and the State Insurance Corporation. The Trust administered the Social Security Scheme as a Provident Fund Scheme until 1991 when it was converted to a Social Insurance Pension Scheme then governed by the PNDC law 247. The scheme in Ghana was reformed by an Act of Parliament, Act 766 of 2008 and was implemented in January 2010 to replace all pension schemes in Ghana including Cap 30. In 2014, the National Pensions (Amendment) Act 883 was passed to amend portions of Act 766.
