'Only 1% of private sector workers contribute to SSNIT' - Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang

According to him, 11.5 million workers are in Ghana but only 1.7million are active SSNIT contributors.

He said 63% of workers are in the private sector while 36% are Public sector workers but only one percent of private sector workers contribute to the SSNIT Pension Scheme.

He made this revelation when the management of the SSNIT, held a meeting with stakeholders to find ways of expanding and deepening coverage of the Basic National Social Security Scheme to self-employed workers.

The meeting, held in Accra, sought stakeholder buy-in and support to extend the coverage of the SSNIT Scheme to the self-employed and workers in the informal sector.

He stressed that this low coverage is attributed to the nature of the economy of the country, where most people are engaged in their own businesses and do not see the need to enroll onto a structured social security scheme.

A pension is a fixed sum paid regularly to a person, typically following retirement from service. It is a regular payment made during a person’s retirement from an investment fund to which that person or the employer has contributed.

A pension is a type of retirement plan, usually tax exempt, wherein an employer makes contributions toward a pool of funds set aside for employees’ future benefit. The pool of funds is then invested on the employees’ behalf, allowing an employee to receive benefits upon retirement or disability.