SSNIT Pays GH¢2.7 Billion To More Than 200,000 Pensioners

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has as of January to September 2022, paid GH¢2.7 billion to more than 200,000 beneficiaries of the Scheme.

The Trust disbursed an amount of GH¢3.6 billion to beneficiaries in 2021 while a total of 229,465 pensioners received GH¢280 million in September 2022 in pensions.

The Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, disclosed this during an Employers’ Breakfast Meeting held in Takoradi today (October 18, 2022).

Today’s engagement, the first of its kind in Takoradi, brought together more than 75 employers in good standing and drawn from Takoradi, Cape Coast, Assin Fosu, Axim, Breman Asikuma and Tarkwa.

A similar engagement was earlier organised in Accra on October 11, 2022. Both engagements registered more than 170 compliant employers as participants.

 Dr Ofori-Tenkorang said the Trust saved more than GH¢346 million in its resolve to improve the sustainability of the Scheme, by withholding the pensions of persons who failed to renew their pensioner certificates.

Pensioners above age 72 are required to renew their pensioner certificates annually to continue receiving their pensions. Failure to do so results in the deactivation of their accounts until they comply.

Dr Ofori-Tenkorang described the Scheme as “generous” and stated for instance that “a Member on pension for 22 years as of 2022, has had an overall pension increment of 3,864 per cent. A Member on pension for seven years as of 2022, has had an overall pension increment of 132.21 per cent.”

Dr Ofori-Tenkorang told the participants, the Trust has introduced an electronic payment system to allow employers and self-employed workers to pay their SSNIT contributions with ease.

The payment platform, ssnitpay, went live on 10th October 2022. Members can now pay SSNIT contributions using their Mobile Money Wallet via USSD short code, Mobile Money POS – walk-in and Debit Card via the Trust’s Web Portal – portal.ssnit.org.gh. The innovation forms part of new measures to enhance service delivery to Members and Clients of the Trust.

He noted that Members need to dial *711*9# to access the Mobile Money payment platform.

The adoption of the e-payment platform is expected to bring relief and convenience to employers and Members, who hitherto, had to travel to a SSNIT Branch or a SSNIT partner bank to pay their contributions. He added that payment of contributions via ssnitpay is E-Levy exempt.

He encouraged employers and self-employed workers to use the Mobile Money channels to pay their contributions.

“The Trust has also enhanced its self-service portal. The portal now allows Members and Clients to perform several activities including viewing and downloading Clearance Certificates and requesting for negotiation meetings for outstanding debts among others.

He encouraged employers to pay the right contributions for their workers by consolidating the earnings of their workers for enhanced pensions. This, he said, will motivate them to go the extra mile in the discharge of their duties.

“We advise you to pay SSNIT contributions on or before the 14th day of the ensuing month. We also urge you as employers to pay contributions for yourselves because you also deserve a pension,” he stressed.   

Key highlights of the Director-General’s Presentation

· A total of GH¢18.4 million was paid in 2021 as invalidity pension to 1,536 invalid pensioners

· Emigration benefit payments totalled GH¢11.8 million in 2021

· So, far, 1,279,849 active Members have merged their SSNIT and GhanaCard numbers as of September 2022

· Benefit processing time has reduced waiting time by 78.72 per cent from 47 days in 2016 to 10 days in 2022

· As at the end of May 2022, the Trust had retrieved more than GHC101.38 million through court action.  The total number of cases within the same period also stood at 10,365.

· As of August 2022, the compliance rate stood at 49%. The total number of compliant establishments recorded was 39,242 compared to 80,434 recorded as liable establishments during the same period

· The Trust will soon rollout a comprehensive campaign to register self-employed persons and informal sector workers onto the Scheme.

Meeting

The breakfast meeting is aimed at strengthening the relationship between the Trust and employers to help deepen their understanding of the operations of the First Tier Social Security Scheme. 

Organised under the theme: ‘Sustainability of the SSNIT Scheme: the role of Employers”, the meeting also provided a platform to discuss challenges facing employers concerning the SSNIT Scheme and how they can be resolved.

Last year, two similar meetings with compliant employers were held in Accra and Kumasi following the maiden edition in 2019, which saw about 50 employers attending in Accra.

About SSNIT

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT or the Trust) is a statutory public institution charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766 as amended by Act 883), 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. Currently, the Trust is the largest non-bank financial institution in Ghana.

The SSNIT Scheme replaces part of the lost income of Members due to Old Age, Invalidity or upon the death of a Member, where nominated dependant(s) receive a lump sum payment. It also pays Emigration benefits to non-Ghanaian Members who are leaving Ghana permanently.

The SSNIT Pension Scheme has an active membership of over 1.7 million. In September 2022, the Trust paid a total of GH¢281.07 million to some 230,831 pensioners. The highest pension earner receives GH¢142,564.97 per month, while the lowest-earning pensioner gets GH¢300.00.