A group of public sector registered pension schemes, known as FORUM, has vowed to instruct its members to sit at home, in solidarity with retirees from January 1, 2020 if stakeholders fail to press upon Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to implement the ‘Past Credits’ in full as directed by The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
The Forum at news conference few weeks ago demanded for the full implementation of the Past Credits (…all past credits as determined, must earn interest at 91-day Government of Ghana Treasury Bill Rate prevailing at the time the contribution was received… interest should be computed for each year of contribution from the year of first contribution till date of payment…) as agreed upon by the parties.
SSNIT in a press release dated September 12, 2019 in respond to Forum claimed it had complied with the aggrement reached by all parties including Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Ministry of Finance, NPRA, SSNIT and representative of Forum in the determination of Past Credits.
But at the news conference, the Chairman of the FORUM, Issac Bampoe Addo has served notice that “if by January 1, 2020, adequate measures are not put in place to ensure smooth implementation of the TIER 2 of the Three-TIER Pension Scheme, all the members of the FORUM will stay at home in solidarity with our members who would be retiring and would have to receive paltry Past Credits due to wrong computation by SSNIT as a result of non-compliance of the NPRA directives on Past Credits”.
According to him, The FORUM ls aware of the negative propaganda against the implementation of the TlER 2, stressing that “the management of SSNIT discontinues the use of contributors money to obstruct a legitimate programme.
Should that obstructive educatlon on tier 2 continue, the FORUM would respond accordingly”.
Mr. Bampoe Addo reiterated that the compromises made were done in good faith but SSNlT so far has not reciprocated the good gesture of the FORUM to fully operationallze the Past Credits.
“Enough is enough”, he point out.
The FORUM is made up with Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme, Health Sector Occupational Pension Scheme, Hedge Master Trust Occupational Pension Scheme for members of Civil Servants Association and Judicial Service Occupational Pension Scheme for Staff of Judicial Service.
Story Edzorna Francis Mensah