The Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Mr Kofi Osafo-Maafo has reiterated his commitment to managing funds of the scheme prudently to ensure that the Scheme would remain robust for future generations.
Prudent management of the Trust’s investments, Mr Osafo-Maafo explained, would ensure the long-term sustainability of the Scheme and fulfill SSNIT’s mandate to provide social security protection for every worker in Ghana.
In the light of this, the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive initiative has been rolled-out to offer a lifetime financial security for all workers in Ghana through a reliable source of income upon retirement.
Mr Osafo-Maafo, has therefore, appealed to workers, particularly, those in the informal sector to get enrolled onto the SSNIT explaining that the scheme guaranteed members a regular monthly income for life during retirement.
Mr Osafo-Maafo stated this during the launch of the 2024 SSNIT MOBILE SERVICE (SMS) week in Elmina yesterday which was under the theme: Sign up with SSNIT today for a pension that pays you as long as you live.
Enrolment of self-employed individuals
According to the Director General, the commitment of the trust to providing income security for all workers in Ghana necessitated the agenda to roll out the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) which is an an initiative that focused on extending pension coverage to self-employed persons.
The main purpose of the initiative, he explained, was to ensure that workers in the informal sector, mainly, self-employed persons, could get enrolled on the SSNIT Scheme as a means that could secure them a befitting package to live on during retirement.
“Although we have achieved a significant enrolment drive – we started last year with just about 13,000 members in May 2023, we are now at about a 100,000 within a year – and we are going to increase these numbers significantly going forward”.
Data on formal and informal sectors
Using data on Ghana’s labour force as produced by the Ghana Statistical Service, Mr Osafo-Maafo indicated that 60% of workers in the formal sector are were covered under the SSNIT Scheme while about 3.1 million self-employed qualified to be on the SSNIT Scheme because they are between 15 and 45 years of age.
He said, a country that prioritises the social security of its members reaps significant economic benefits including reduction in old age poverty, reduction in dependency on family and social services, financial security in retirement (a regular source of monthly income) and increased productivity.
He, therefore, encouraged those who own businesses not to wait until it was too late because with the SSNIT Scheme, every month of contribution mattered.
“You have the opportunity to choose a future that is dignified and self-reliant. We urge you to Sign up with SSNIT today and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with the assurance of a monthly pension in retirement,” he stated.
The need to join SSNIT
The Director General encouraged Ghanaians to take a decisive decision to join SSNIT to secure their income for life because the Scheme provided superior value compared to others.
He mentioned for instance, that SSNIT’s value was higher than contributions invested in secure long-term investments such as treasury bills.
Additionally, SSNIT also paid a minimum pension by subsidising pensions for pensioners whose salaries were low during their active working life.
“Indeed, if you work out the benefits that you get after retirement, they far exceed what you would have gotten if you invested that money in treasury bills,” he mentioned.
The SSNIT Scheme, he stated, also provided Invalidity Pension to contributors in the event of an accident or permanent illness which prevents them from working again.
The weeklong programme as designed by the Trust, focused on SSNIT’s commitment to bringing its services closer to the general public and its clienteles without the customers having to visit offices of the trust for inquiries.
As a result, the Trust has pitched camps at 76 locations outside its 51 branches across the country where dedicated staff committed to providing the public with excellent services where the customers could access services and valuable information.
By: Bernice Nkrumah/newsalertgh.com
