Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, the Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has disclosed that the Trust will pay a total of GH¢4.0 billion to pension beneficiaries in the country in 2022.
The Director-General of SSNIT noted that, currently, the Trust has a total 230,831 number of pensioners across the country. He thus, disclosed that the Trust as of September 2022, has paid a total of GH¢2.67 billion to pensioners. “In September 2022 alone, the Trust paid GH¢280.07 million to about 230,831 pensioners,” he stated.
The Director-General, moreover, disclosed that in 2021 the Trust paid a total of GH¢3.61 billion to pension beneficiaries and in 2020 an amount of GH¢3.3 billion was also paid to pensioners. Out of this, he noted that the highest pension earner received GH¢142,564.97 per month, while the lowest-earning pensioner gets GH¢300.00.
Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang explained that the portfolio of funds being managed by the SSNIT is helping promote the socio-economic development of the country and helping pensioners to eke out a better living.
Active SSNIT Contributors
Dr Ofori-Tenkorang noted that SSNIT currently has active contributors of 1.7 million, with private sector constituting 1,130,069, representing 63 per cent, whereas the public sector 649,072 total contributors, representing 36 per cent and the self-employed 17,006, representing one per cent. He asserted that the Trust is working to enroll more workers on the scheme, noting that the country currently has a workforce of 11.5 million with 9.9 million employed. “SSNIT will roll out a comprehensive campaign to register self-employed persons and informal sectors onto the Scheme,” Dr Ofori-Tenkorang, said.
The Director-General disclosed that at the end of May 2022, the Trust has retrieved more than GH¢101.38 million through court action and the total number of cases within the same period also stood at 10,365.
Dr Ofori-Tenkorang spoke about the current merger of SSNIT cards and the Ghana card. He noted that so far, 1,279,849 active members have merged their SSNIT and Ghana card numbers.
The Director General explained that SSNIT is a statutory public institution charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766 as amended by Act 883), with the administration of Ghana’s Basic National Social Security Scheme. “Its mandate is to cater for the First-Tier of the Three-Tier Pension Scheme”.
Dr Ofori-Tenkorang averred that, the Trust is currently the largest non-bank financial institution in Ghana.
Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, made this known at the 2022 Employers Breakfast Meeting in Accra. Third in the series, it was attended by employers from Greater Accra and Eastern Region. The programme was as on the theme “Sustainability of the SSNIT Scheme – The Role of Employers.”
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