The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has disclosed an amount of GH¢62.9 million has been saved as of November 2019 after it embarked on a deactivation exercise and re-enrollment of pensioners who are 72 years old and above.
It added a total of 6,268 ‘ghost names’ have also been taken off the pension payroll after the exercise.
SSNIT has, therefore, urged pensioners who are yet to be enrolled on its system biometrically to visit its offices before the end of January 2020 to ensure their names would not be removed from the pension payroll.
Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations and Benefits, Mrs Laurette Korkor Otchere, made this known at a seminar organised by SSNIT in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.
Speaking on SSNIT’s mandate in ensuring that employers fulfill their obligations by paying the retirement benefits of their employees, Mrs Otchere indicated that her outfit does not take delight in taking employers to court, but it is compelled to take legal action since that remains the last resort.
“When you default in paying the contribution, these monies become debts which we must collect, however we are sometimes compelled to take legal action against recalcitrant employers because the law places an obligation on the Trust to pay benefits on workers and of their dependents whether their employers have paid the contributions or not,” she noted.
She also disclosed that SSSNIT had adopted innovative ways to facilitate the payment of the contributions which would allow employers to sit in the comfort of their offices to make such transactions without necessarily visiting any SSNIT branch.
The seminar, which was christened ‘The SSNIT Focal Persons seminar’, brought together individuals known to be influential in their organisations and communities.
It was aimed at enhancing the relationship with employers and also help broaden understanding and knowledge of the operations of the First Tier Scheme to enable the participants to champion SSNIT’s agenda at their organisations and communities.