The leadership of the National Pensioners Association of Ghana has officially expressed its gratitude of the Association to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust for indexing monthly pensions by 25% for the year 2023.
The Association, led by General Secretary Stephen Boakye, paid a courtesy call on the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang today, Monday, January 23, 2023.
The General Secretary of the NPA expressed the group’s appreciation to SSNIT for the increase, describing it as unprecedented.
He stated that although they expected an increment, the 25% was something they least expected.
They had received a 10% increase the previous year, so we did not expect a 25% increase because we are all aware of the current economic crisis. But SSNIT has managed to give us 25%.”
”We are here today to congratulate and ro express our heart feelings, and gratefulness to the SSNIT Board and Management for the indexation given to us in 2023. Infact I told my people, and they also recognized that we fought for an increment for a higher indexation so many years ago under the previous government, but nothing was done. So we are grateful to the Trust for giving us a 25% increment.”
He4 also commended SSNIT for the ”timely payment of pensions” adding that SSNIT has never defaulted in payments.
Meanwhile, he has asked SSNIT to support its Medical Scheme, which is a supplement to the National Health Insurance Scheme and provides treatment for ailments such as prostate and cervical cancers, as well as eye problems.
He disclosed that SSNIT gave them GHC800,000 two years ago, which went a long way to support over 40,000 members of the Association.
Director-General’s Response
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, for his part, stated that the welfare of pensioners and contributors would be a top priority in the management of the Social Security Scheme.
He stated that SSNIT makes a significant commitment to its stakeholders, which is to pay pensioners for as long as they live on this planet.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang said SSNIT would continue to pay benefits promptly and to do that, it would be prudent in the way it manages things.
He said the increase in the indexation for 2023 took a long time, and that ”is because it is not a normal year. When you run a pension fund, you always have to consider the long term and plan for the long term. Nobody expected that within the same year, we would receive the galops that inflation made during the year…But our commitment is to make sure that we preserve your purchasing power and also balance it with what we planned for.”
He explained that despite the announced 25% increase, some pensioners received more than a 43% increment in their pensions because of the redistribution done by SSNIT.
On the appeal for SSNIT to support the Pension Medical Fund, he assured the Association that he would present the issue before the Board of Trustees for consideration.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
