SSNIT pensioners complain of unfair treatment

The Asante-Bekwai Municipal branch of the National Pensioners Association has urged the management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to do more to make life better for pensioners.

The Trust, they said, appeared to be only interested in the comfort and convenience of its staff.

Mr Andrew Akwasi Sarpong, Chairman of the Association, said the members found it totally unacceptable the continued high administrative cost, high staff numbers and low returns on investments that were affecting the efficient operations of the Trust.

“The result is that real income to pensioners has been and continues to be woefully inadequate,”  Mr Sarpong observed at the Asociation’s meeting at Asante-Bekwai.

He said while their counterparts on “Cap 30” had seen some improvement in their monthly pension, the same could not be said about SSNIT pensioners.

He rejected the flat amount of GH¢10.00 paid to the members across board and said the increment should have been calculated on a percentage of one’s annual total.

He also complained about the 2.5 per cent contribution by SSNIT to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which, he said, was denying them appropriate increases in their pension. “This is gross injustice because SSNIT contributors and pensioners do not enjoy any special package under the scheme”, he declared.

Mr Sarpong said any pension policy must protect the real incomes of pensioners, preserve equity and ensure that it remained sustainable.

He urged SSNIT to make full disclosure of its investment portfolio for stakeholders to assess which ones were not performing and how their monies were being used.

He said failure to migrate existing pensioners onto the new guarantee period of 75 years was sending disturbing signals about the health of SSNIT’s financial resources.

Source: GNA