Dr John Ofori- Tenkorang, the Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has advised Ghanaians not to solely depend on SSNIT after retirement.
The Director-General of SSNIT, therefore, urged income earners to complement their SSNIT pension insurance with other credible schemes to enjoy adequate benefits upon retirement.
According to Dr. John Ofori- Tenkorang, he observed that SSNIT has become synonymous with pension in Ghana, which should not be the case. The SSNIT boss made this known during media engagement on the sidelines of stakeholders’ consultation meeting on pension issues in Wa.
Dr. John Ofori- Tenkorang explained that SSNIT is only one piece of the pension puzzle and cited the National Pensions Act 2008, Act 766, which introduced the three-tier pension scheme to provide other avenues for workers to better their pensions. He noted that SSNIT managed only the First Tier of the scheme, while the Tier two and three schemes are managed by Corporate Trustees.
The Director-General indicated that the SSNIT Scheme is very generous and urged workers to take full advantage of the three-tier pension scheme, which provided tax exemption to enable them to receive enhanced benefits when they retire.
Dr. John Ofori- Tenkorang encouraged participants to focus on the value the SSNIT Scheme offered and contribute on their correct salaries to enjoy enhanced pensions, adding that, the SSNIT Scheme is open to all workers in Ghana. ‘‘All workers including self-employed persons can join and contribute to the Scheme to enjoy pensions in the future.’’
SSNIT to Roll Out Comprehensive Campaign
Dr Ofori-Tenkorang disclosed that SSNIT would before the year ends, rollout a comprehensive campaign to register self-employed persons and informal sector workers onto the Scheme.
“SSNIT scheme is a good one and what you put in determines what you get. So, workers should take advantage of the value the Scheme offers and ensure their contributions are paid on their consolidated salaries for enhanced pensions.”
Dr John Ofori- Tenkorang
Mr Joshua Ansah, the Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, commended the management of SSNIT for the continuous engagements with stakeholders. He averred that SSNIT operations were previously perceived to be shrouded in secrecy but through continuous engagements with stakeholders, workers are gradually becoming more informed about the scheme.
The Deputy Secretary-General asserted that the conversation about low pensions would soon become a thing of the past because the higher the basic salaries, the more enhanced pensions would be.
The TUC’s Deputy Secretary–General also urged workers to find out who their Corporate Trustees are and make follow up on their contributions and check their statements regularly. He thus, entreated workers to take full advantage of the engagements to help educate more workers.
Mr Ibrahim Wemah, the Upper West Regional Chairman of the TUC, in an address, urged the participants to ask questions to gain better understanding and clarity of the scheme. Mr Ibrahim Wemah, moreover, called on workers to join SSNIT to secure their future
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