The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has reassured pensioners of the Scheme’s ability to continuously pay their pension benefits for many years, despite recent contrary reports.
Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo, the Director-General of SSNIT, in a speech read on his behalf, said despite its challenges, the Scheme remained strong and would be able to pay pensions and meet its financial obligations in the years ahead.
The reassurance comes on the backdrop of a report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which among other things projected that SSNIT’s financial reserves could deplete and subsequently collapse the Scheme by 2036.
However, Mr. Osafo-Maafo told the National Pensioners Association (NPA) to disregard such reports and that they were committed to transparency, open communication, and addressing pensioners concerns.
He said this at a Pensioners’ Engagement 2024, organised by SSNIT on the theme: “Our Promise, Your Security”, in Takoradi.
The engagement provided a platform for SSNIT to explain some of its working strategies to members of the NPA, while clarifying issues and concerns of the Association for mutual benefit.
He said: “In fact, as of August 2024 alone, SSNIT has paid well over 3.7 billion in pensions to over 250,000 retired workers in Ghana, and we are focused on making the scheme even stronger by expanding coverage to the vast numbers of self-employed workers in the country.”
The SSNIT Director-General stated that their aim was to build a more inclusive system that benefited every worker to ensure a secure retirement for all.
Mr. Noble King Dogbatsey, Deputy Western Regional Secretary of the NPA, speaking on behalf of the General Secretary, they had heard discussions and debates on issues of interest regarding the scheme on the media space, and that the engagement had provided the much-needed opportunity for members to understand issues surrounding their benefits.
He said: “It is essential to recognise that despite challenges, the SSNIT pension scheme has been a lifeline, providing security, dignity, and hope to us, retired workers.
“Since the scheme began paying monthly pensions in the early 90s, pensioners have been paid every single month according to what they have earned. From 1991 to date, SSNIT has never reneged in the payment of pensions to Pensioners.”
He, therefore, urged all other stakeholders to welcome engagements with SSNIT to get better informed on the scheme so that, “we all can approach issues of our pensions dispassionately and with seriousness.”
Mr Joseph Poku, Chief Actuary of SSNIT, reiterated that the Scheme would be able to pay pensions and meet its financial obligations beyond 2036, saying members’ contributions remained safe.
“In somewhere April this year, it became topical in the media that SSNIT was going to collapse in the next 12 years, but we are here to reassure our stakeholders that there is no truth in that,” he said.
GNA
JP /BM
29 Oct 2024
