In order to ensure that informal sector workers receive regular incomes while on retirement, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has intensified its Self-Employed Enrollment Drive (SEED) initiative.
The SEED is to encourage all self-employed to sign up onto the SSNIT scheme to ensure a brighter future. According to SSNIT, the move was to enable this group of people have income replacement in the future, as a result of old age or permanent invalidity. It is also to help reduce old age poverty.
“By registering to be part of the SSNIT scheme, it means in case you are no more, your dependent or children will not be left unattended to,” Mr. Charles Akwei Garshong, Public Affairs Manager, SSNIT, told journalists at a sensitisation program in Accra.
Mr. Garshong noted that SSNIT had a mandate to ensure that people receive incomes when they retire and that can only be possible when they have been enrolled onto the scheme.
He revealed that out of the 6.7 million self-employed people in Ghana, only 38,000 had enrolled onto the SSNIT scheme, while the rest had not.
He also indicated that many self-employed were unable to retire even though they felt the need to do so. He attributed this to the fear of not having regular incomes once on retirement.
“So we are out there to ensure that we, as an organisation, the mandate placed on us, we are able to achieve and by achieving that mandate we will even help reduce government expenditure on some social intervention programmes …”
How to join
Mr. Garshong indicated all one needed to be able to join the scheme is to have a Ghana card and then walk into any SSNIT office to register.
Mode of Payment
On mode of payment, Mr. Charles Akwei Garshong indicated that there would be no need to walk to a SSNIT office to make payment. According to him, customers can simply pay via mobile money or pay with a debit card on the SSNIT portal.
“But for those who would want to come to the office, it is still open and they can do so”, he said.
Additionally, he said, the SSNIT team will set up their tents in communities and those who want to make payment can do so. But he advocated strongly for payment to be done online since the country is gradually digitising its activities.
