We will protect the welfare of our members and not cheat them – SSNIT denies accusation
The management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) says it is fully committed to paying all Past Credit based on an agreement reached by stakeholders in the pension sector.
The tier–one pension managers said it cannot renege on agreement reached with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Finance, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), SSNIT and representatives of the Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Scheme (FORUM).
The trust in a statement was reacting to a press conference organised by the FORUM accusing it of using rates of 50 per cent treasury Bill Rate (and below) to calculate the Past Credits.
The past credit is four per cent of a contributor’s annual salary up to December 2009.
Currently, the past credit appears on the statement of account of every contributor with contributions prior to January 2010. Interest on the past credit is calculated for every contributor to the point of retirement.
The FORUM described as “misleading” a statement issued by SSNIT to the effect that it has recomputed the Past Credits of members using 100 per cent Treasury Bill Rate compounded quarterly as captured in a previous agreement and that the result of that computation is shown on the Statement of Accounts of its members.”
“SSNIT is aware that it used rates of 50 per cent Treasury Bill Rate (and below) to calculate the Past Credits which was rejected by The Forum,” the FORUM said challenging SSNIT to reveal its current method of computing the Past Credits.’
“The Forum is serving notice that if by January 1, 2020, adequate measures are not put in place to ensure smooth implementation of Tier two of the three-tier Pension Scheme, all the members of the Forum would stay at home.
This will be in solidarity with our members who would be retiring and would have to receive paltry Past Credits due to wrong computation by SSNIT as a result of non-compliance of the NPRA directives on Past Credits,” Chairman, Isaac Bampoe Addo said.
Response
However, in a statement sighted by The Ghana Report, SSNIT says it is committed to protect the welfare of its members and not cheat them
“The SSNIT Scheme is a social protection scheme and will at all times protect the welfare of its Members and NOT cheat them.
The Management of Trust assures the general public, especially Members of the Scheme and Pensioners that it will continue to compute and pay benefits in accordance with the law.”
Read full statement below: