No Foreign Trips For SSNIT Board Members – Board Chairman Declares

A total amount of GH¢500,000 will be paid into Pensioners’ Medical Health Scheme next year to help pensioners pay their medical bills.

The figure represents 60 percent increase over that of this year, which was GH¢300,000.

The Board Chairman of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, disclosed this when he opened the renovated offices of the National Pensioners’ Association (NPA) in Cape Coast on Tuesday.

He also said the pension benefit had been increased by 10 percent and by the increment, the current minimum pension of GH¢276.00 was higher than the minimum wage, which stood at GH¢234.30.

He said efforts were being made to reduce the processing time for payment of pension benefits.

Dr Addo Kufuor assured the pensioners of further improvements to enhance their benefits, adding that “board and management regard the pensioner as an important partner of the trust.”

He further assured that the Board and management of the Trust are committed to enhancing the benefits paid to pensioners, as well as their general wellbeing, and that the cost of foreign trips of board members had been cut down.

“Board members who undertake foreign trips will do so at their own expense,” Dr Addo Kufuor said.

This, according to him, formed part of the cost-cutting measures to ensure that adequate resources were made available to the Trust for the benefit of Ghanaian pensioners and victims of occupational injuries and their dependants.

He said the Trust was collaborating with the Registrar General’s Department and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to connect their database to bring on board all newly registered establishments for effective mobilisation of resources.

“It’s this concern for the wellbeing of pensioners across the country that upon being notified of the dilapidated state of the Pensioners Association’s Office in Cape Coast, management decided to renovate them,” he stated.

K Appiah, Central Regional Chairman of NPA, said the health of pensioners must be made crucial to the Trust because old age comes with a lot of health issues.

He implored government to formulate comprehensive policies aimed at addressing their health and transportation challenges.

Mr. Appiah expressed happiness with the renovation of the offices, which would boost the administrative functions of the association.