The Head of External Communications at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Mrs. Jemimah Ofori, has urged Ghanaians, particularly workers in the formal and informal sectors, to take their retirement planning seriously by joining and consistently contributing to the SSNIT pension scheme.
She said adequate preparation for retirement was essential to ensuring financial security and a dignified life after years of active service.
Mrs. Ofori explained that SSNIT had been established to provide social protection for workers and their dependants, particularly at a time when individuals could no longer rely on active employment as their main source of income.
Speaking in an interview, she said workers should not wait until they were approaching retirement before beginning to think about their financial future.
According to her, early registration and regular contributions were critical to ensuring that workers could derive the maximum possible benefits from the scheme when they eventually retired.
“SSNIT is designed to take care of you when you can no longer work. The packages we have are meant to guarantee income so our pensioners are not left struggling in old age,” Mrs. Ofori said.
She noted that retirement should be viewed as a stage of life that required deliberate financial preparation rather than something that workers should leave to chance.
Mrs. Ofori cautioned that failure to plan adequately for retirement could place significant financial pressure on family members, especially when an individual became too old to work or suffered an accident that affected his or her ability to earn an income.
She, therefore, encouraged workers to develop the habit of making regular pension contributions while they were still economically active.
Protection Beyond Retirement
Mrs. Ofori stressed that the importance of social security extended beyond retirement, explaining that the scheme was designed to provide protection against various contingencies that could affect a worker’s ability to earn an income.
She said workers needed to appreciate the value of social security contributions and regard them as an investment in their future rather than simply another deduction from their monthly earnings.
She further encouraged employees to take an active interest in their pension records and ensure that their contributions were properly captured.
According to her, having a reliable pension arrangement could provide workers with greater confidence about their financial future and reduce the possibility of becoming dependent on relatives in old age.
Informal Sector Workers
Mrs. Ofori also called on workers in the informal sector to take advantage of opportunities available to them to participate in social security.
She said retirement planning should not be limited to salaried workers in the formal sector, since traders, artisans, farmers, self-employed persons and other informal sector workers also needed financial protection for their later years.
She encouraged such workers to seek information about SSNIT and take the necessary steps to register and make regular contributions.
“Everybody needs to plan for retirement. It should not matter whether you work in the formal or informal sector. What is important is to start early and remain consistent,” she advised.
Start Early
Mrs. Ofori said one of the most important decisions workers could make was to start planning for retirement as early as possible.
She explained that beginning early gave workers a longer period within which to build their pension entitlement and prepare financially for life after active employment.
She consequently urged young workers not to consider retirement planning as something meant only for older people.
She said the earlier workers developed the culture of saving and contributing towards their future, the better positioned they would be to enjoy financial security when they eventually exited active employment.
Mrs. Ofori therefore appealed to employers and workers to promote a stronger culture of pension awareness and compliance across the country.
She said a dignified retirement required deliberate preparation and that workers should take responsibility for securing their future while they still had the opportunity to do so.
She urged Ghanaians to see SSNIT membership as an important component of responsible financial planning and not wait until retirement was close before taking action.
“Your retirement tomorrow depends on the decisions you make today,” Mrs. Ofori stressed.
