SSNIT ups pension allowance

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has increased the monthly allowance of pensioners by 18 per cent for 2017.  

A statement issued by Ms Evangeline Amegashie, the Corporate Affairs Manager of SSNIT, on Tuesday, explained that the increment would ensure that Pensioners on the SSNIT Pension as at December, 2016,  would have a rise in their allowance by a fixed rate of more than 15 per cent.     

In addition, a flat amount of seventeen cedis, forty one pesewas (GHC 17.41) would be added to their minimum monthly allowance. 

The increment which is in line with the Section 80 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), would,  therefore, translate into a rise of the current minimum monthly allowance of two hundred and seventy six Cedis ( GHC 276.00) to three hundred and thirty three  Cedis, eighty one pesewas ( GHC334.81), the statement said.     

Meanwhile, pensioners who enroll on the SSNIT Pension scheme from January 2017, would receive a minimum monthly pension of two hundred and seventy six Cedis (GHC 276.00).   

However, the company called on pensioners who had not yet registered for their biometric smart cards to do so by February 28, 2017 to enable them to get their allowances on time. 

“Unregistered pensioners will have their pension payment delayed if they do not re-register for their smart cards,” the statement said. 

SSNIT is a statutory public Trust charged under the National Pensions Act 2008 Act 766 with the administration of Ghana’s Basic National Social Security Pension Scheme and to cater for the first tier of the contributory three-tier scheme.

The primary responsibility is to replace part of lost income of Ghanaian workers or their dependants due to old age, invalidity, or loss of life.

The Section 80 of the Act states that the Trust shall annually review the pension payment, which shall be indexed to wage inflation rates of active members or another rate determined by the Trust in consultation with the Board of the Authority. 

According to SSNIT’s official website, the Trust is currently the largest non-bank financial institution in the country. 

The Pension Scheme, as administered by SSNIT, has a registered membership over 1,269,673 million with over 165,624 pensioners who regularly receive their monthly pensions from SSNIT.

The annual absolute growth of pensioners is more than 7,000, according to official records.