The Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, has advised workers in the informal sector to get registered under the SSNIT pension scheme, stressing that all workers, irrespective of the nature of work they do, would definitely go on retirement one day.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang explained that SSNIT, the only state pension institution, was to serve all manner of workers, and that the impression that it only served public sector workers was wrong, and called on self-employed people such as hairdressers, carpenters, masons and dressmakers, to register under SSNIT to guarantee a brighter future when they grow old.
The Director General, who was speaking at the launch of the National SSNIT Mobile Service Week at the Volta Regional capital, Ho, explained that the national launch of the Mobile Service Week in the Volta Region formed part of a comprehensive educational activity of his outfit to make retirement life for all Ghanaians more comfortable.
Dr. Tenkorang said SSNIT was the only pension scheme that did not discriminate against workers, and embraced all Ghanaians engaged in any economic activity and had been able to provide decent retirements for workers over the years.
He contended that SSNIT had been able to reduce poverty among the aged on retirement, thereby increasing their lifespan.
He observed that self-employed workers in the country constituted the largest working population, and that the SSNIT Mobile Service being offered would include the issuance of statement of accounts of registered members, registration of employers and workers, processing of benefits initiation, renewal of pension certificates, merging of SSNIT and National Identification Authority (NIA) numbers, and general enquiries among others.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang noted that the theme for the national launch, “You also Deserve a Pension; Join SSNIT Today,” was apt and the campaign would end on Friday, October 7, 2022, and urged all workers to take advantage of the opportunity, and be registered to enable them enjoy a decent pension scheme under SSNIT.
He announced that a total of 69 vantage points were available in the 16 regions to provide services to members and clients to enable them access the services of the Trust without difficulties, saying, the 69 service centres across the country would enable members and clients to initiate registration onto the Scheme, view nominee list, check member information, initiate and track benefits applications among others.
The Director General also disclosed that starting from October 10, 2022 pensioners would be able to renew their pension certificates and view pension payment advice, using mobile money, which would not attract E-levy, and by the close of the year 2022, SSNIT APP would be fully in operation.
According to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, SSNIT had an active membership of over 1.7 million in September 2022. The Trust also paid a total of GH¢281.07 million to 230,831 pensioners and the highest pension earner received GH¢142,564.97 per month, while the lowest earning pensioner gets GH¢300.00.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, lauded the efforts SSNIT have been making to educate the public particularly the informal sector to be registered under the Scheme, which he described as the best practices to reduce poverty among the aged who retired in the informal sector.
The Paramount Chief of Kpenoe Traditional area, Togbe Kotoku XI, who chaired the programme, also commended SSNIT for making the necessary efforts to ensure that all Ghanaians, who were engaged in any kind of economic activity, had been registered under the state insurance scheme.
Togbe Kotoku, therefore, asked workers in the informal sector to take advantage of the SSNIT pension Scheme, to enable them to live decent lives after retirement, which he said, protected the beneficiaries and their families during the period of retirement.
