Over GH¢3.7billion in pension benefits has been disbursed to more than 250,000 retired workers as of August 2024, according to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
This demonstrates the Trust’s continued commitment to ensuring the financial well-being of pensioners across the country, despite challenges faced by global pension schemes
To this end, Director-General Kofi Osafo-Maafo underscored the scheme’s stability and ability to meet its obligations to pensioners
He stated this to emphasise that the Trust continues to pay out pensions regularly and is in a healthy financial position.
Global pension schemes are often influenced by several factors – including demographics, funding constraints and political and economic climates. Some countries have responded by raising the retirement age and adjusting their pension systems away from defined benefit models.
But with the case of Ghana, it has largely remained a defined benefit system that is based on a worker’s best three years of earnings. Acknowledging that many countries have moved away from this model, the Director-General stressed how important it is to appreciate the structure Ghana has currently in place.
To improve the scheme’s long-term sustainability, several key initiatives have been put in place to enhance the scheme’s financial performance; including better cost management, improved collection of contributions and prudent investments.
According to the Trust, these measures are already yielding positive results.
“The Trust’s financial performance has shown significant improvement over the past few years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. After facing a challenging period, SSNIT recorded a surplus of approximately GH¢230million in 2021 – and subsequent years have seen even greater financial gains”.
It is understandable to conclude that pension benefits are always more secure when pension plan assets are invested more conservatively, but the actual effect is more complex. Long-term planning is needed to ensure that a pension plan has sufficient assets to pay all promised benefits when they are due.
The Director-General’s assurance that SSNIT is in a healthy state will restore much-needed confidence in the scheme, as it’s ability to remain liquid and sustainable is the factor most important to the best interests of all workers.
