The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will, from the next quarter of the year, join several other state institutions and agencies which have introduced digital innovations in their operations to ease overall access for the Ghanaian public who patronise the scheme.
The Trust, which has already seen some reforms, will, therefore, undertake a general rollout of an easy onboarding process where the GhanaCard will be accepted to register new contributors.
The latest efforts will also include the introduction of an electronic payment platform that will, among other things, enable employers and contributors to make payments to the scheme from wherever they are.
It is expected that this will also provide an opportunity for contributors to initiate record updates as well as create the opportunity for pensioners to also access the platform for other purposes.
The development is hoped to contribute to improving patronage of the scheme, which currently has active contributors of about 1.8 million, out of a working population of 11 million.
Director-General of SSNIT, Dr. Ofori Tenkorang, speaking in an interview on the sidelines of this year’s ‘GNAT Investment Forum,’ said “the future for the contributor is very exciting because we are going to make it very easy for them to do business with us.”
Also, he observed that in doing so, transparency of the scheme will be deepened since the rollout of the SSNIT will enable contributors to have access to records unlike currently where statements are sent out electronically every quarter.
To tackle some misconceptions and low public knowledge of the Scheme, he said SSNIT has for some time now been out making efforts to engage ‘the vast majority of Ghanaians.’
“We’ve been doing this by reaching out to various formalised associations in the semi-organised informal sector and the general informal sector to try and get them to understand that the SSNIT scheme is the basic pillar for pensions and retirement planning in this country, and that they should take advantage of it,” he said.
He said those who have been engaged include unions like the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Hairdressers Association, and religious bodies.
The GNAT Investment Forum
The ‘GNAT Investment Forum 2022’ was organised by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) for its members.
This year’s forum, which is the second edition, was organised under the theme “Ghana’s workers’ pensions; challenges and solutions for growth in the next decade.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Tenkorang, said the SSNIT scheme is very generous since it offers unique benefits and provides value that no other pension product offers.
He used the platform to educate members of GNAT on the operations of the scheme while clarifying several misconceptions some members of the public have about the SSNIT scheme.
Furthermore, he said efforts are made daily to improve the scheme, including putting in place measures to maintain an accurate pension payroll and pay only legitimate pensions.
He advised workers to take full advantage of the three-tier scheme, since “it provides a very good tax advantage for everyone,” and also urged them to plan their retirement among others.
The National President of GNAT, Isaac Owusu, in his opening remarks at the forum, noted the timeliness of the programme, particularly, the need for teachers to know much about their pensions and also given the current economic times.
The General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas T. Musah, also recognised the challenges of teachers relating to their income and how it affects pensions while bemoaning the inability of the average teacher to retire to live comfortably.
He noted that the issue of income of the average Ghanaian worker must be revisited and properly addressed to ensure that workers can retire and live on decent pensions.
