Feature Article : "The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com."

Receiving money from the government and quasi-government sources in Ghana has always been seen as a difficult task, especially when it comes to End-of-Service benefits.

Many workers and their dependants dread this period of their lives and wish it never comes.

Talk to beneficiaries of Cap 30 and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Schemes, and many will tell you of the experiences they went through before receiving what was due them.

My experience with the SSNIT scheme (and I believe the same can be said of other schemes) confirms that delay in processing and payment of benefits persists, and it is one of the most worrisome problems claimants encounter.

The reason for this delay is, however, not far-fetched. That could be a lack of adequate and reliable information on many contributors and their dependants to facilitate payment.

SSNIT Pension Scheme

The SSNIT Pension Scheme is Ghana's foremost pension scheme and is a social insurance scheme providing income protection for workers in both government and private sectors as well as for those in the informal sector (who voluntarily choose to join).

These income earners, having signed on to the scheme, together with their employers, contribute 17.5 per cent of their declared monthly incomes to a common fund, the Social Security Fund.

 

Contributions and returns on investments so received into the fund are then used to provide for members who fall due for benefits as prescribed by PNDC Law 247 (the legal framework by which the scheme operates) and general costs incurred in administering the scheme.

In return, contributors are rewarded with life-long part replacement of their lost incomes in the form of monthly guaranteed pensions when they grow old or are declared permanently incapacitated (by qualified health personnel) and in both cases, are unable to work to earn incomes anymore.

 However, one-time (lump sum) payments are made to dependants of members who die, while still working and pensioners who die before the age of 72.

For now, it is clear that through SSNIT's financial contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), active contributors and SSNIT pensioners can enjoy an additional benefit from free medical care at designated NHIS health facilities.

Addressing delays

Identifying delays in the processing and payment of pensions is a serious drawback to the effective administration of the scheme.

In 2002, SSNIT unveiled a strategic plan, in which it sought to address the problem.  Continued    Source: DAILY GRAPHIC - Daily Graphic

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