By P. K. Yankey
Effiakuma (W/R), Oct 19, GNA – The Effiakuma Local Branch of SSNIT Pensioners’ Association has urged the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Board to reconsider the low level of monthly allowance paid to SSNIT Pensioners in the country.
The Pensioners’ Association reminded the SSNIT Board that though the basis of each pensioner’s allowance hinged on the three best years’ previous basic pay before retirement, a number of them retired before the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP).
As a result, the current allowances of certain pensioners in the low salary bracket before retirement reflect poor salary levels in the country.
Mr. Francis Fatsuo Agbenu- Amuzu, the Branch Chairman of Effiakuma Local Branch of SSNIT Pensioners’ Association, made the call at a news conference on behalf of the association, at Effiakuma, in the Western Region.
The conference also brought executives of other local branches together to show their solidarity.
He said since the association was not considered in the implementation of the recent COLA paid to workers to cushion them, the SSNIT Board ought to be considerate when granting the 2023 annual increase of their monthly allowance.
Mr. Agbenu-Amuzu expressed concern over the escalating cost of living in the country with fluctuation in the prices of commodities and the astronomical increases in utility services and shelter, making life unbearable for them.
According to him, ” it will shock you to know for the first time that a pensioner who worked for over 30 years in the Civil Service receives GHC 332 as monthly allowance.”
He stated that “old age in Africa goes with health problems coupled with heavy financial obligations; as a result, pensioners die prematurely and at a fast rate.”
The Branch Chairman also “urged the SSNIT Board to cease with the rhetoric for better conditions for SSNIT Pensioners’ and have compassion for pensioners.”
He urged them to walk their talk to enable pensioners who used all their youthful lives to build the economy of Ghana, to enjoy a little in their lifetime.
He called for “the amendment of section 80 of Article 766 which takes care of their welfare, to allow the SSNIT Board to have flexibility to decide on the plight of SSNIT Pensioners.”
Mr. Agbenu-Amuzu called on the SSNIT Board to consider a better 2023 increment for SSNIT Pensioners, taking the Cost-of-Living Allowance, which pensioners currently do not receive, in the face of inflation and high cost of living.
GNA