SSNIT Advises Employers On Contributions

By Edmund Mingle

Wednesday, 24 October 2007

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has advised employers to ensure that the contributions of their employees are accompanied by the relevant data to enhance the effective processing of their benefits.

It said that many employers were failing to provide the necessary data, including the names and social security numbers of their employees, thereby making it difficult to accredit them with the contributions.

For instance, statistics show that out of 158,779 contributions received in Accra between January and June this year, the contributions of 16,522 were not accompanied by contribution reports.

Henry Van-Hein Sackey, Adabraka branch manager of SSNIT, told an employers’ forum in Accra yesterday, that the unavailability of regular accurate data was hindering the effectiveness of processing the accounts of members.

The forum, which is part of an awareness creation campaign on the responsibilities of employers in the management of data on employees’ contributions, was attended by employers in various companies around Accra Central.

Mr. Sackey, said, inaccuracies in contribution reports, a key factor in the operations of the scheme, could cause delays in the provision of members’ accounts as well as the processing of a member’s claims.

Reverend Kwaku Osei-Bimpong, Public Affairs Manager of SSNIT, said that the scheme is a social insurance and not a savings scheme as percieved by some members.

He said that these members have been making requests for loans on their contributions which have not been granted because granting of loans is not part of the scheme.

He advised members who are declared medically unfit to work, to inform SSNIT on time so as to have their claims processed, explaining that some wait too long after being declared unfit to work, before informing the SSNIT.
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