SSNIT Announces First Virtual Branch to Provide 24-hour Economy Service
The Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Mr. Kwesi Afreh Biney has announced to open first virtual branch to provide 24-hour economy services to customers nationwide.
According to him, the first virtual branch is set to open this year, targeting the informal sector and the gig economy, discussed the enhancement of digital services to allow 24-hour engagement and interaction with the organization.
He emphasized that, the virtual branch aims to provide services at any time of the day, addressing the needs of those who cannot visit during office hours. He added that, the next level being having a virtual brand that provides the full bouquet of services.
“it’s important for us to enhance our digital offerings. We currently do provide digital services to USSD, as well as our websites and alter, we also have a very functional App that enables people to interact with us, but we felt that we should scale that up into the next level, the next level being having a virtual brand that provides the full bouquet of our services.” He mentioned.
He indicated that, the virtual branch will offer 24/7 service, allowing users to engage with benefits, compliance, data, and branch managers without visiting physical branches.
“The virtual branch provides Ghanaians with an opportunity to engage SSNIT at any time of the day. The branch is to increase accessibility and convenience for the people served, with plans to open more branches similarly equipped and staffed with the goal of providing professional and convenient services through these branches.” He highlighted.
“So you dial in, you have a benefits person to work with, you have a compliance person who is prepared to engage you. You have a data person who is prepared to engage you You have a branch manager. So whatever you can walk into our service halls and be served with you can actually just dial in and we are available 24 hours to provide that service. He noted.
Mr. Kwesi Afreh Biney, the Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust made these assertions during the official opening of the SSNIT new branch at ‘Spintex’ in Greater Accra today to mark the inauguration of 52nd branch nationwide.
He also emphasized on the need for broader conversations around retirement age, suggesting engagement with a wider range of stakeholders, noted,that current retirement age in Ghana is 60 years, but there is a need to consider global practices, such as 62 or 65 years.
“ I think that the conversations around retirement age should be much broader, and we should engage much broader before we get into the spaces of is this 60 is this 61 is it 62 or is it even 65 . Yes, there are some countries that do 62 there are countries that do 65 but Ghana, as it is today, is 60 years. And what it is that we need to do is to situate these conversations as well in the broader conversation of employment.”. Mr. Kwesi Afreh Biney mentioned.
He highlighted the importance of situating retirement age discussions within the broader context of employment and unemployment rates.
“When you have high unemployment as well, you may need to review some of these decisions, ensuring that once you bring in fresh people to join the employment group. We are beginning to live much longer than we used to live as a people, life expectancy has gone up”. He stated.
He suggested that, a much broader engagement with all stakeholders will position us in the space to make a decision around what we should do with our retirement age.
