SSNIT merges 1.9 million scheme holders to Ghana Card.
According to Mr. Joseph Poku, Chief Actuary at SSNIT, the Social Security and National Insurance Scheme (SSNIT) has merged the identities of over 1.9 million beneficiaries to the National Identification Card (Ghana Card).
Mr. Poku stated that the merger took place between June 28, 2021 and June 30, 2022, during which time systems were put in place to allow members to merge their SSNIT and NIA.
He made the remarks at a stakeholder engagement event in Tema organized by SSNIT in collaboration with the national executive of the Ghana Trades Union Congress for members and leaders of the Greater Accra Council of Labour.
He pointed out that 383,200 of the total were pensioners and lump sum beneficiaries, 1,246,639 were active members, and 293,010 were inactive members.
He defined inactive members as those who had registered but had not contributed to the scheme in the previous 12 months.
Mr Poku stated that the Ghana Card would be the only form of identification recognized by the scheme beginning in July 2022 and urged members who had yet to merge their numbers to do so.
He mentioned that some of the advantages of combining the numbers were convenience, the ease of doing business with only one number, and the elimination of the cost of printing cards.
Giving insight into the activities of the scheme, he said currently 25 percent of workers on the SSNIT scheme pay monthly contributions of GHs55 or less, adding that if these workers were to retire on the basic salaries of GHs500 or less, they would earn a monthly pension of GHs300.
He explained that pensions were a direct reflection of the basic salaries on which contributions were paid, therefore the higher the salaries on which people contribute, the higher the pension, noting that the longer the period of contribution, the higher the pension for those who contributed 35 years and above earn the maximum pension right of 60 percent.
Mr. Patrick Tetteh Binyemi, the Greater Accra Regional Council of Labour, TUC underscored the importance of extending the compulsory retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Mr. Binyemi stated that there was an urgent need to reconsider the pension age in order to allow workers to contribute more and enjoy higher pensions upon retirement.
"We must also negotiate with our employers to ensure that a portion of our earnings is used to pay SSNIT contributions, allowing our members to earn a meaningful pension," he added.
Mr. Joshua Ansah, Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, welcomed the suggestion to consolidate basic salaries and allowances.
Mr. Ansah urged workers to prioritize their pensions from the start, emphasizing that workers must learn from the mistakes of their forefathers.
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