Austin Akufo Gamey, a labour expert, has said the challenges crippling the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has existed for years now, recalling their findings after investigating the Trust some 20 years ago.
He says when he and others were commissioned to write the pensions scheme for Ghana in 2004 by President Kufuor, their investigations at SSNIT revealed a number of challenges which are still persisting, being the cause of the Trust’s potential downfall.
“We realised that there was something untoward about SSNIT, myself and one Josephine Amoah who was then the Commissioner in charge of Insurance, we were tasked to go and interview and find out what is happening in SSNIT. Our findings were mind-boggling at the time,” he said.
Mr. Gamey explained that, “investment portfolios were not working well, government interference was severe and it continue to date. People were not accessing their benefits smoothly,” he added.
His comments come on the back of a revelation by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that based on actuarial valuation, SSNIT reserves will be exhausted by 2036.
According to the ILO, total income including contributions, investment income and other income, will no longer be sufficient to pay for annual expenditures including benefit payments to pensioners by 2029.
“Starting in 2029, total income (contributions, investment income and other income) is no longer sufficient to pay for annual expenditures.
“The reserve starts to decrease. During the year 2036, the reserve drops to zero,” the research emphasised.
Explaining further on Ghana Tonight Thursday, April 25, 2024, Mr. Gamey noted some of their findings “was part of the reasons why some people in the informal sector, particularly the market people, who were not willing to be part of SSNIT and they were part of the people who encouraged us to introduce the second tier so the introduction of the second tier came strongly from other sources other than organised labour.”
“At the time we did the actuarial study, we realised that SSNIT will not be able to withstand the pressures of the economic turnarounds and therefore it was important for them to maximise their efficiency which has never been coming and government interference has been so severe so much so that, to date, SSNIT by the actuarial study brought by the other people other than ILO recently, clearly shows that; the first one was supposed to be ending by 2042 then it came down to 2036 and now eventually, by 2030, it means the funds may not be able to pay the people when they retire. So clearly, we have a herculean task on our hand especially from 2025 knowing how bad the economy is struggling now,” he explained.
