Business News of 2012-11-02

SSNIT fund size records 17.9% increase

The fund size of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) recorded a 17.9 per cent increment at the end of 2011. The total contributions collected by SSNIT also increased by 43.19 per cent to 825 million Cedis in 2011, up from 576 million Cedis realized in 2010.

The Director General Dr. Frank Odoom, made these figures known at the seventh stakeholders forum, here in Accra.

SSNIT's total investment portfolio as of December 2011 was 3.42 billion Cedis up from 2.90 billion Cedis recorded in 2010.

Budget cuts and good investments accounted for the growth of the fund size.

Even with the increment in fund size, pensioners still do not see it reflect in their pockets as some receive monthly benefit of less than fifty Cedis.

The pensioners are asking authorities to increase their benefits.

Meanwhile, the National Pensions Act 766, which was passed in 2008, seems to be a major challenge to SSNIT. According to its Director General, the pension law which sought to improve benefit packages without corresponding increment in contributions, had created a gap between the amount raked-in and what is given out.

As the number of pensioners on payroll increased by 4.86 per cent to 112,522 in December 2011, so did the amount of benefits paid during the same period.

Benefit payments reached 355.15 million in 2011 representing 14.3 per cent increase over benefits paid in 2010.

The increase in benefits payments was largely due to the high number of pensioners as well as increase in salary levels.