The Director General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, has advised employees to negotiate with their employers to pay SSNIT contributions on their total earnings.
According to him, this has become necessary as many employees do not factor allowances into their determination of pension. He therefore urged employees not to wait until they are about to retire before raising red flags.
He made this appeal at the launch of the 2020 SSNIT Mobile Service Week in Takoradi on Monday.
He explained that although, the National Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766 does not make provision for allowances to be factored into pensionable salaries, SSNIT has insisted that this does not prevent the employer from paying SSNIT contributions on consolidated salaries.
Over the past few weeks, issues on low pensions have widely been discussed in the media space as some workers in the public sector have claimed their members are not receiving what they call the right pension benefit when they retire.
Officials of SSNIT have, on many occasions, explained to contributors and the public that the SSNIT Pension Scheme is a contributory Scheme with a fixed rate of contributions and defined benefits. This implies that, contributors get exactly what they put in.
“The salaries on which you contribute determine your pension. So, when your salaries improve, then your pensions will automatically improve”, Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang said.
The Trust has explained certain key determinants in ensuring contributors earn decent retirement benefits when they retire.
These determinants include, the salaries on which the requisite contributions or insurance premiums are paid and the period one has contributed or paid those premiums.
“So, if you contribute based on a relatively big salary, you will get a big pension”, he stressed.
The Trust has over the past three and half years intensified its public education outreach programme with members, employers, as well as prospective contributors including students.
These activities have largely focused on what the SSNIT Scheme is about and the various benefits under the Scheme.
About the SSNIT Mobile Service
The SSNIT Mobile Service is an event where SSNIT officers move from their offices and set up at various locations across the country to serve members of the scheme and the public.
This is to bring SSNIT services closer to members by providing the opportunity to educate them about their rights and responsibilities under the scheme. It is part of the Trust’s strategic efforts to have constant engagements with its members and the general public by focusing on member and client satisfaction.
