The National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) needs to be amended, according to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in order for companies to be required to include in their employees' allowances when calculating their pensions.
By making this change, workers will be able to retire with larger pensions.
At a breakfast gathering last Wednesday for employers from the Greater Accra and Eastern areas, the SSNIT Director-General, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, made this announcement.
Some workers receive sizable allowances but never permit them to be factored into their base pay, which is the basis for calculating their pension. They grumble about getting modest pensions when they retire, but they don't remember that while they were working, they ring-fenced their benefits so that their pensions would only be based on their basic wages, which might be low, he said.
The larger the amount on which the pensions were based, the better for the employee, he claimed, noting that some retired workers were earning between GHC10,000 and GHC120,000 per month, while others were getting only the minimum of GHC300.
According to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, the program is set up so that the contributor will benefit more from retirement contributions the higher the income used to compute the pensions.
After their active service has ended, SSNIT will only provide a pension of up to 60% of the GHC4,000, rather than the full GHC10,000, which includes earned allowances.
In light of this, Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang stated that the revised Act will aggregate their earnings prior to the computation of their pensions and the corresponding deductions.
Currently, the basic wage is used to determine a worker's pension, not gross income, which takes into account allowances, the man said.
The Director-General stated that the revision will also take penalty into consideration and require employers who delay sending SSNIT pension withdrawals on behalf of their employees to pay the current interest rate.
enduring investments
The Director-General further stated that SSNIT was repurposing its underperforming investments in order to increase returns and sustain the pension plan.
Many of the underperforming investments, according to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, were given to his administration in 2014.
In order to re-activate SSNIT's investment portfolios for future action, an investment team had been established.
He added that his company will collaborate with other investors in sectors where SSNIT's investments were underperforming.
"What we are doing is restructuring some of the failing investments, particularly those legacy investments that we feel are not appropriate for us to have a majority stake in; we are going to encourage investors who are in that company to partner with us.
According to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, "the reorganization is to ensure we achieve the required returns to fund the pension program."
Dr. Tenkorang revealed that a transaction advisor had been hired and was now working on procurement procedures to have shares in hotels owned by SSNIT sold to strategic investors as part of attempts to increase investments.
digital payment
At the event, SSNIT also unveiled an electronic payment system to make it simple for employers and independent contractors to make SSNIT donations.
On October 10, 2022, the ssnitpay payment system became operational.
Members can now pay SSNIT contributions with a debit card via the Trust's web portal at portal.ssnit.org.gh, their mobile money wallet via a USSD short code, and mobile money POS in-person. The innovation is a component of fresh initiatives to improve the Trust's service delivery to members and clients.
The technology's creator, Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, stated that users had to dial *711*9# to access the Mobile Money payment system.
Employers and members who previously needed to travel a great distance to an SSNIT branch or an SSNIT partner bank to pay their contributions are anticipated to benefit from the deployment of the e-payment platform in terms of convenience and alleviation.
According to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, ssnitpay contributions are exempt from the E-Levy.
He urged the employers and independent contractors to pay their contributions through Mobile Money channels.
The Trust has improved its self-service portal as well. Members and clients can now access the portal to carry out a variety of tasks, such as examining and downloading clearance certificates and seeking negotiating sessions for unpaid debts, among other things.
By combining their employees' wages for better pensions, he urged firms to make the appropriate payments for their workforce. This will encourage them to go above and above in the performance of their jobs.
We suggest that you make SSNIT contribution payments by the 14th day of the next month, or earlier. Because you also deserve a pension, we also implore you, as employers, to make payments for yourself," he said.
