Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori Tenkorang, has urged the public to prioritize retirement planning in order to ensure financial security during their elderly years.
He emphasized the need for both formal and informal workers to take into account the longer life expectancy of the current generation and proactively plan for their retirement.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang delivered this message during a discussion with the informal sector in Ho. He stressed that retirement planning is crucial, as both parents and their children will ultimately depend on their own retirement savings for financial security.
“You cannot always depend on your children for your retirement. Your children cannot guarantee your retirement support.
“Life expectancy is high and dependence by parents would affect us all. You would enter retirement while your parents are still alive and your will be burdened,” he stated.
The Director-General urged all to seek the advantage of the State-run insurance scheme, which continued to support the ending years of the nation’s retired workforce.
“When that income you using disappears from you, the insurance company called SSNIT will come and replace that income from you. SSNIT is the foundation of pensions, Tier II is the block work, Tier III is the roof, and your little investments somewhere could finish the room”.
The Director-General highlighted the lack of a strong pension insurance culture within the informal sector, with only 57,000 out of 6.7 million individuals being part of the SSNIT program. In contrast, the formal sector boasts a 60% participation rate, with 3.2 million workers enrolled in a scheme, as mentioned by Dr. Ofori, “we need to change the narrative”.
“SSNIT is from the State and the State protects it,” he added.
The SSNIT Scheme currently offers a remarkable 13.5% return rate, acknowledged as one of the highest in the industry, and it offers a range of payment options, including digital and cash methods.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang affirmed that pension payouts have seen a notable 21% increase, and the Scheme is committed to its tradition of making timely disbursements.
This engagement was organized in partnership with the Trade Union Congress, which facilitated outreach to diverse unions within the informal labor sector.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang underscored that this event forms part of a nationwide campaign to enhance pension awareness within the predominant informal sector. He also highlighted the successful collaboration with the TUC, which contributed to increasing SSNIT enrollment from 14,000 to 57,000 in approximately three years.
“The notion that SSNIT is for government workers only is not true. The growth has been commendable and its positive for the efforts to bring in more self employed”.
The Director-General emphasized the significance of “enabling technologies” in maintaining the progress, noting that the recent adoption of biometric cards and advancements in electronic payment systems have consistently facilitated the inclusion of the informal sector.