The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust ( hereafter SSNIT), Osarfo Maafo, is assuring private business owners in the formal and informal sector to secure their retirement age with SSNIT.
Mr. Osafo Maafo stands by the fact that SSNIT provides a better package to Ghanaians in their old age when they contribute to the Trust.
In Ghana, the private sector employs more people than the state hence the Director-General believes enrolling more self-employed persons into the trust is the most prudent way to go.
Mr. Bosompem Osafo Maafo stated this stance during the recent Employers’ Breakfast meeting in Accra, “Now the private sector is the backbone of the economy and indeed if SSNIT is to succeed we have to look for the growth of the private sector to enrol more people in the private sector. The private sector includes the informal sector”.
Deputy Director-General for Operations and Benefits, Ms. Juliana Kpedekpo emphasised this point as she acknowledged the critical role employers play in securing the future of their workers.
Who Can Be A SSNIT Contributor
The minimum age to enrol in SSNIT is 15 years and the maximum age is 45 years. State institutions make it compulsory for their employees to be SSNIT contributors. Same is for private formal sector workers.
These age restrictions are for those who want to enjoy the benefits of the Tier 1 pension benefits. Anyone above 45 years can not be enrolled on the Tier 1 Trust but the Tier 2 Trust with fund managers to manage one’s contribution for better returns.
However the biggest sector of the employed population who are familiar with the Trust are those in the informal sector.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2023 Ghana Human Development Report, 2023 suggests 75 percent of the employed are in the informal sector.
“Irrespective of the trade that the person carries out or profession, irrespective of how small or large. Our whole economy really revolves around the private sector, and we cannot continue to rely on the government to provide employment for everyone. So if SSNIT really is to sustain itself and to grow, our emphasis must be on enrolling in the private and informal sector at all levels” the Director-General stated.
A member of management at SSNIT Mr. Richard Manu boasted about SSNIT’s achievement in increasing the number of active contributors to over two million and fifteen thousand from 2019. With one million, two hundred and ninety-eight thousand, seven hundred and thirteen (1,298,713) from the private sector alone.
How To Contact SSNIT
The theme for this year’s Breakfast meeting was ‘Maximising the use of digital platforms to improve contribution collections and payments’. This is all in an attempt for SSNIT to make their engagement with stakeholders ‘seamless and less painful’.
SSNIT has a range of digital services and channels for anyone to engage with the Trust. Walking to a SSNIT branch may not be convenient to every person.
Consequently, the Trust has a SSNIT Mobile App and Website & Portal which allows you to initiate registration among other things; and a USSD Platform which enables contributors to make contributions with ease.
Therefore, it is worth noting that ‘SSNIT provides peace of mind during retirement and before that should all sources of income of a contributor be permanently terminated through accidents or invalidity; SSNIT is the best insurance for anyone until death’.
