SSNIT benefits: Important notice to SSNIT contributors
An important breakdown of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) benefits to the contributors has been covered here for their perusal.
Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is a social insurance scheme where members contribute during their working life and receive benefits when they no longer earn regular income.
A breakdown of SSNIT benefits according to laid down norms has been covered in this article for all types of contributors.
What is SSNIT Tier 2?
SSNIT’s Second Tier is a defined contributory Occupational Pension Scheme which is compulsory for workers with a 5% contribution made on behalf of members. In addition, the Tier’s contribution is managed privately by approved Trustees.
Is SSNIT Tier 2 compulsory?
Yes, Tier 2 is compulsory for all workers in the formal sector but it is optional for self-employed people.
Is SSNIT Tier 1 mandatory?
SSNIT Tier 1 is a mandatory basic contributory Social Security Scheme managed by SSNIT.
Notice to all SSNIT contributors
A retiree contributor will benefit from Tier 2 as his/her Lump Sum and SSNIT which is mandated for the payment of monthly pension salary.
Contributors who were in the Service before 2016 should note that on retirement, they have Past Credit (a sizeable Lump Sum to be collected from SSNIT) in addition to their Tier 2 Lump Sum. This is a result of accumulated funds in a suspended account between 2010 and 2016 before the funds were released to the various Fund Managers.
Contributors who were appointed in 2016 and beyond are not entitled to any Past Credit from SSNIT when they retire.
Contributors “who have been born and reborn” (have different Dates of Birth at their workplace and SSNIT) whether deliberately or unintentionally, have created serious problems for themselves.
Those who have the same dates as mentioned above, but have different dates of birth on their National ID
(Ghana) Card, have problems similar to those mentioned above. This is because with any different Date of Birth, the system will recognize it as a different person; and as such, your accumulated contribution will be suspended in that account searching for its rightful owner who has metamorphosized with date of birth.
With a different Date of Birth on your Ghana Card which might be accidental, you cannot claim your benefits after retirement.
Contributors who have problems as mentioned above should correct all those anomalies in time before pension so that all the dates are commensurate (tally) for easy claiming of benefits.
Periodically, contributors are urged to update their beneficiaries to effect the necessary changes.
Tier 2 became operational without contributors being made to input any beneficiary as it pertains to SSNIT. This means many contributors below the age of 60, have died in the last two years; and their Tier 2 Lump Sum was not claimed by any beneficiary due to that lapse.
Your SSNIT beneficiaries are not necessarily the same ones to be used for your Tier 2. You can make, omissions, insertions, maintain them all, or overhaul them.
If the number of your beneficiaries exceeds FIVE (5), request an additional Form.
There is NO limitation to the number of beneficiaries. However, ensure that your allocation of benefits sums up to 100%.
If all the beneficiaries are minors, ensure that you include one adult (probably the mother/father of the children) who can make claims in your “catastrophic absence” through a Letter of Consent.
Without any adult among the beneficiaries, in case of any misfortune (death of contributor), your Tier 2 Lump Sum will be withheld in your account till any of the minor beneficiaries attain the age of eighteen (18).
Ensure that you input the correct Date (s) of Birth of your beneficiaries that correspond to those on their Birth Certificates, or the same dates used on the Form above will be used in the processing of the “ID (Ghana Card). Otherwise, they cannot make claims.
Tier 3, which is voluntary by the contributor, shouldn’t exceed 16.5% of the contributor’s basic salary.
By Daniel Selasi
