Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang (4th left), Nene Okukrubuor Teye Kwesi Agyemang V, Chief of Dodowa (4th right)
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) says it has saved the country some GHC235 million, having decided to withhold pensions of those who are 72 years and above who have not renewed their pensioner certificates.
The programme, which began in 2018, is part of a broader set of actions to manage funds wisely, improve investment performance, collect payments in arrears, broaden and deepen the Scheme’s coverage, and ensure that only legal pensions are given.
Addressing the National Pensioners Association at the 5th Quadrennial Delegates Conference yesterday at Dodowa, SSNIT Director-General, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, explained that the Trust however restores and authenticates pensions of persons who are legitimate and living.
This way, staff from the Trust visit the homes of the elderly who phone in for the service in order to alleviate the problems associated with the renewal of pension certificates.
“We do this to ensure that the people who are 72 years and above and have exhausted their guarantee period of pensions, notwithstanding the fact that SSNIT will pay you even if you live to a 120 years, but after 72 years, if the good Lord calls you home, pensions payment have to stop. We have to make sure that when sure event occurs, know about it and stop those pensions,” he said.
“Since I became Director-General in 2018, we decided to take the bold step of withholding from pensioners who have not completed the renewal of their pensioner’s certificate. We hold those pensions until the person reaches out to say he or she is alive and then we come to you, authenticate you and restore your pension,” he explained.
Merger
He expressed gratitude to the executives of the Association for assisting the Trust to continuously clean the Pensions Payroll by periodically submitting the names of deceased members of the Association.
“Continue to alert the nearest SSNIT office in the unfortunate event any of your colleagues pass so we can delete their names from our pay books. By doing so, it goes to affect the long term sustainability of the Scheme,” he said
On the merger, he said that the Association should encourage its members to integrate their SSNIT and NIA numbers.
He allayed their anxieties by assuring them that the incapacity of any member to merge the numbers does not imply that pensions will be terminated.
“We are not going to stop your pensions right now. However, I strongly advise you to merge your SSNIT and NIA numbers because you may not be able to renew your pensioner certificate when it is required in the long run,” he stated.
Problematic salaries
Delivering a goodwill message, the General Secretary of the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU), Bernard Adjei, stressed the need for the amount paid in pensions to be re-considered, saying that the amount insured is problematic because salaries paid are not enough.
He said even though his outfit and the Association have good relations, the PSWU looks forward to a strengthened relationship between both entities.
Having commended management of SSNIT on the progress it has made so far, Mr Adjei pledged the commitment of the union to continue to champion the cause of pensioners.
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