By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has paid out a total of GH¢3.2billion in benefits to its members during first-half 2024.
This was revealed by SSNIT Director-General Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo during the 2024 SSNIT Mobile Service (SMS) Week launch at Elmina Fishing Harbour.
In his address, Mr. Osafo-Maafo highlighted the importance of SSNIT’s role in securing the future of Ghana’s workforce, noting that the trust has paid out over GH¢2.8billion in old age pensions to 248,554 beneficiaries, along with GH¢15.6million for invalidity pensions to 1,666 individuals.
Additionally, GH¢51.5million was disbursed as old-age lump-sums to 2,941 retirees and GH¢258.6million was paid out as survivors’ lump-sums to 14,493 beneficiaries.
This underscores the Scheme’s pivotal role in reducing old-age poverty and ensuring financial stability for retirees.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo emphasised that SSNIT’s mission to provide income security for all workers in Ghana necessitated the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) launch. This initiative aims to extend pension coverage to self-employed individuals and workers in the informal sector who have historically been underrepresented in the SSNIT scheme.
“Our intention is to sign up as many more from the informal sector as we can,” he said, adding that the initiative has already achieved a remarkable 700 percent increase in membership – growing from 13,000 members in May 2023 to nearly 100,000 within a year.
Nonetheless, according to data from the Ghana Statistical Service, while 60 percent of the 3.2 million formal sector workers are covered by the SSNIT scheme, only 3.2 percent of the 6.7 million self-employed workers are currently enrolled. This disparity highlights the need for continued efforts to encourage more self-employed individuals to join the scheme.
The Director-General also touched on the issue of pensioners’ deactivation, revealing that SSNIT had saved over GH¢550million by deactivating pensioners aged 72 and above who failed to renew their Pensioner’s Certificates. This measure ensures that pensions are paid only to living pensioners, with those who comply having their accounts reactivated and arrears paid.
In addition to the financial updates, Mr. Osafo-Maafo unveilled the new SSNIT Digital Bouquet, a suite of digital platforms designed to enhance the quality of service provided to members.
The bouquet includes a revamped website, an upgraded USSD platform and much-anticipated SSNIT Mobile App. These tools are expected to simplify transactions for members and improve access to SSNIT services.
“We are optimistic that the digital bouquet will significantly impact our work while easing the burden of our members and employers in their daily encounters with SSNIT,” he remarked.
The launch of SSNIT Mobile Service Week, themed ‘Sign up with SSNIT today for a pension that pays you as long as you live’, was a call to action for self-employed individuals to secure their futures by enrolling in the SSNIT scheme.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo urged all workers, in both the formal and informal sectors, to take advantage of the services offered during the week-long event that will see SSNIT staff deployed to 76 locations nationwide.
