By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has targeted to enroll over two hundred thousand self-employed persons onto the SSNIT scheme by 2025.
This is as a result of the Self-Employed Enrollment Drive, SEED initiative launched in May 2023 to raise awareness nationwide on the need for the self-employed to enroll in the SSNIT Scheme.
To drive home this initiative, SSNIT has taken the awareness creation float of the initiative to Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality and Agormanya in the Lower Manya Municipality of the Eastern Region to educate the self-employed on the need to enroll in the scheme to get old age pension or a monthly pension when the unfortunate happens.
The float started from the SSNIT Branch Office at Somanya through the principal streets in the Yilo Krobo Municipality through to Agormanya in the Lower Manya Municipality of the Eastern Region.
During the float, staff shared flyers with residents while educating them on what they stand to gain when they enroll on the scheme. Some benefits include pension at old age, invalidity pension when the unfortunate happens and the contributor is incapable of normal gainful employment determined by a recognised Medical Officer, survivors lump sum benefit paid to the contributor’s descendants when they pass on, and emigration lump sum when the contributor registers as a non-Ghanaian worker and will be leaving or have left Ghana permanently.
In an interview with GBC News, the Chief Actuary of SSNIT, Joseph Poku, noted that before the launch of the SEED initiative in May last year, only 14 thousand self-employed individuals were enrolled unto the scheme, however, as at October this year, over one hundred and twenty thousand self-employed individuals have enrolled unto the scheme. He added that they are targeting to enroll over two hundred thousand self-employed persons on the scheme by next year.
Mr. Poku reiterated that self-employed persons enrolling on SSNIT scheme will help reduce the burden on families when they go on retirement.
Mr. Poku gave further details on the amount a self-employed person can contribute monthly to stand a chance of benefiting from the scheme.
The Somanya Branch Manager of SSNIT, Naa Djama Eno Dadzie, reiterated that the scheme is not only for the formal sector workers, but it is as well for those working in all sectors of the country.
She encouraged all self-employed to enroll unto the scheme to guarantee financial cushion on retirement.
