The management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has held a meeting with stakeholders to find ways of expanding and deepening coverage of the Basic National Social Security Scheme to self-employed workers.

The meeting, held today, Monday, 21 March 2022 in Accra, sought stakeholder buy-in and support to extend coverage of the SSNIT scheme to the self-employed and workers in the informal sector.   

Presently, a little over 14,000 self-employed workers contribute to the SSNIT Pension Scheme.

This low coverage is attributed to the nature of the economy of the country, where most people are engaged in their own businesses and do not see the need to have a structured social security scheme.

Industry analysts assert that if drastic measures are not taken and implemented to have such workers put on a structured social security scheme, it will lead to an increase in poverty among the aged in the near future. 

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in its 2019 policy report, identifies the situation where many social security schemes primarily focus on providing coverage for salaried employees as a major challenge.

“The gaps in social protection for self-employed workers raises concerns not only for the realisation of their human right to social security but also for social and economic development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, target 1.3 on social protection systems”, the report stated.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, lauded SSNIT Management for the initiative to extend social security coverage to self-employed workers in the country.

He noted that a recent study conducted by the Ministry indicated that one of the main things workers use their disposal income for is to spend on their aged parents and, thus, anytime people are not covered by any structured social security system, they tend to fall on the working population.

“Indeed, if we want to make sure that we all have good standard of living even during our old age, then the best way is to ensure we are put on social security”, Mr Baffour Awuah noted.  

He explained that considering the unique benefits the SSNIT Scheme provides to Members, it is important for the self-employed to join the First-Tier.

“I am aware that there are so many pension products, but the difference between SSNIT and the other tiers is that, while the other tiers pays a one-time lump sum, the SSNIT Scheme pays you monthly pension until death and I think this is something everybody must embrace”, he said.

For his part, the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, said it has become necessary to extend coverage to informal sector workers not only to increase active membership and contributor base of the Scheme, but also to ensure that every worker in Ghana enjoys social protection.

This, he added will help reduce poverty and over-dependence on family relations and friends during old age.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Trades Union Congress (TUC), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), other state agencies, civil society organisations among others.

The General Manager of SSNIT in charge of Benefits, Mr. Robert Owusu Sekyere, also noted that the Trust is determined to increase the number of persons insured on the Scheme to provide income replacement for every worker in Ghana.

“That is why we are now paying more attention to our friends who are self-employed. The feedback we receive on the regular clearly shows very little understanding of how the SSNIT Scheme operates. There is also an erroneous perception that people lose the value of their money when they insure their incomes with SSNIT. It is against this backdrop that we have decided to reach out and educate these individuals through various channels on the benefits the SSNIT Scheme provides to encourage them to come along to secure their future income”, he said.