Retired SSNIT Staff To Be Advocates

Members of the retired Social Security and national Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Staff Association have been urged to be ambassadors of the trust by positively influencing the mindset of Ghanaian workers.

As former workers of the Trust, they have been advised to recommend to workers in active service to contribute to the Trust for better retirement package.

'The public is to be informed of the need to contribute to SSNIT and you must be ambassadors of the Trust,' advised Dr Frank Odoom, when he addressed members of the retired SSNIT staff Association (RESSA) at the launch of the association's 20th anniversary celebration in Accra.

He said the retirees should also inform the public to update their records regularly and also avoid defrauding the system.

'The social security fund must be managed for all contributors and pensioners to benefit into the future.'

On the recent compliance of pensioners over the 2011 indexation of GH¢10 that was paid to pensioners as being too small, the Director-General of SSNIT said the amount multiplied by the 106,383 pensioners amounted to GH¢1,067,021.49.

'We tried to help those far below the ladder so that those above the ladder would not benefit so much at their expense.'

Social security indexation, which is a scheme that helps to periodically adjust pensions, is generally aimed at raising pension payment to reflect changes in earnings of contributors for the previous year.

He said the new pension scheme which had led to the establishment of a three-tier pension system posed numerous challenges to the operations of the Trust.

However, Dr. Odoom said 'management of the trust is working around the clock to strategise to ensure that the Trust grows from strength to strength … and in this vain your association will come in handy.'

By Emelia Ennin Abbey