NIA proposes extension of deadline for Ghana card, SSNIT number merger

The National Identification Authority has proposed an extension of the deadline given by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for members of the scheme to merge their SSNIT and NIA numbers.

The process began on June 28, 2021, where SSNIT deployed systems to members of the Scheme to merge their SSNIT and Personal ID numbers on their Ghana Cards, with a deadline of December 31, 2021.

However, not all SSNIT cardholders have been able to go through the merging process, with a majority blaming it on the inaccessibility of the Ghana cards.

Head of Corporate Affairs at NIA, Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu told Citi News, an extension of the deadline will afford a larger number of SSNIT members to merge their numbers with the NIA numbers.

“Even though we have had some discussions and there are considerations here and there, I think that most of these institutions will have to depend on us in terms of our readiness and coverage across the country before some of the deadlines are given.”

“As it stands, we have some 500,000 to 600,000 SSNIT subscribers who have not yet gone through the process. So the expectation is that the deadline should be extended so that a lot more people will get the opportunity to register for the Ghana card and go through the process successfully.”

As part of the government's plan to migrate all identification numbers onto the National Identification card, also known as Ghana card, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust on June 28, 2021, began processes to merge all SSNIT numbers to the Ghana card.

The merger is also in compliance with Regulation 7 (1) of the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012, L.I. 2111, and a directive from the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

The intended merger is expected to improve the ease of doing business with the Trust by enabling a more convenient means to allow members to use one card, that is the Ghana Card, for all transactions.

Over one million SSNIT contributors have had their unique scheme numbers merged with the Ghana Card as of last month.

---citinewsroom