Ghana - Register with (SSNIT) Social Security and National Insurance Trust

ProcedureEdit

The first thing to be done is to visit the SSNIT offices and opening a Pension Savings Account' in your names at the SSNIT near your home district or Municipality. After identifying your self to the administrator you will be given a form to fill, and attach all the necessary documents including a current passport photo,sign and submit the form to the SSNIT officer at the counter. The Pension account will be opened and a saving account number and SSNIT card will be handed over to you.

You may change the employer and work place but the individual account will remain with you through out your life time.

Membership of the SSNIT Scheme is open to all workers in Ghana except officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces and any other person who is expressly exempted by law. The scheme is also optional for the selfemployed.

These income earners, having signed on to the scheme, together with their employers, contribute 17.5 per cent of their declared monthly incomes to a common fund, the Social Security Fund.

Contributions and returns on investments so received into the fund are then used to provide for members who fall due for benefits as prescribed by PNDC Law 247 (the legal framework by which the scheme operates) and general costs incurred in administering the scheme.

In return, contributors are rewarded with life-long part replacement of their lost incomes in the form of monthly guaranteed pensions when they grow old or are declared permanently incapacitated (by qualified health personnel) and in both cases, are unable to work to earn incomes anymore.

Obligations of Workers and Employers

To ensure the smooth running of the scheme, there are a number of obligations that both the worker and employer must discharge.

Worker

Every worker is to ensure that he/she is registered under the scheme and issued with a membership number into which contributions are paid on his/her behalf by his/her employer.

If, on the other hand, the member is self-employed he/she is required to regularly pay his/her contributions to the Trust. A member is expected to keep only one social security number throughout his/ her working life. The member is also required to take good care of the membership certificate.

Employer

The employer is also under strict obligations to register all workers and deduct and pay contributions on their behalf. Payment should be accompanied with contribution reports indicating which member is being credited with what contribution. This payment should be done not later than the 14th day of the ensuing month as late payment will attract the payment of interest.

The employer should keep proper records of all Social Security numbers and personal records of workers and notify SSNIT of change of labour force, location, status or cessation of operations. The employer should above all, keep accurate records of his/her operations, particularly with regard to workers and their remunerations. The employer should release all such information and documents for inspection when required to do so by an accredited officer of the Trust.

The employer should report of the employment of any new graduate from a tertiary institution for the purpose of the repayment of his/her students? loan if he/she is a beneficiary of the SSNIT Students? loan scheme.

Employers? Obligations

Every worker shall remit all the eighteen and half percent (18.5%) total contributions on behalf of each employee to SSNIT within the fourteen (14) days contribution period in a manner specified below.

i) Separate payments shall be made in respect of the 13.5% and 5%.

ii) No part payments shall be made by any Employer.

iii) Two separate contribution reports in respect of the thirteen and half per centum (13.5%) and five per centum (5%) indicating the names and social security numbers of each worker must be submitted together with the payment.

iv) An employer is obliged by law to submit the contribution report for that month at the end of that month, whether the contribution is remitted to the Trust or not.

v) The contribution report or data accompanying both the 13.5% and 5% can be submitted in electronic form in addition to a clean and accurate hard copy.

vi) It is an offence under Pensions Act 766 to fail to remit the mandatory contributions by the fourteen (14th) day of each ensuing month.

vii) The penalty for non-payment of mandatory contribution within the specified period (i.e. the 14th after the end of each month) is a sum equal to 3% per month of the contribution payable. For the avoidance of doubt, the non-payment of the 5% mandatory contribution within the specified period shall attract the 3% penalty.

Required DocumentsEdit

i). Letter from Employer (recommendation letter)

ii). valid ID

iii). Pension Savings Account number

iv). Birth certificate to prove age.

v). National Identification card.

vi) Details of your home Address

vii). Address of the employer.

Office Locations & ContactsEdit

National Pension Regulatory Authority

State: Greater Accra

Country: Ghana

Telephone: Telephone: +23(302) 968692 / 968693

Information: Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.npra.gov.gh/site/

Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)

SSNIT Contact Information

PENSION HOUSE

Postal Address: P.O. Box MB.149, Ministries, Accra - Ghana

Tel : (0302) 667731,667736, 668664, 668665, 668669,668671, 668672, 668673 & 668675

Fax : (0302) 662226, 667746, 669681

Contact Center : (0302) 611 622

Email : [email protected]

Website: http://www.ssnit.org.gh or http://www.ssnit.com

EligibilityEdit

The social security scheme applies to

(a) every employer and to each worker employed by its establishment;

(b) any other employer, worker and self-employed to whom the Social Security Act, 1991 (P.N.D.C.L. 247) applied immediately before the commencement of this Act, and

(c)self-employed persons, who opt to join the social security scheme.

Where a member has ceased to be employed, that member may continue to pay a monthly contribution at the rate of thirteen and half per centum of that members declared income or salary

The minimum age at which a person may join the social security scheme is fifteen years and the maximum age is forty-five years.

The Ghanaian law makes it mandatory for all workers and employers to contribute certain percentage ie Employers - 13% of workers basic salary, while workers- 5.5% of workers basic salary.

All workers are required by law to contribute certain percentage on their basic salary.

FeesEdit

free of charge for registration.

ValidityEdit

No expiry date

Documents to UseEdit

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Processing TimeEdit

Processing takes less than 7 days

InstructionsEdit

The core business activities are decentralized with most of the functions carried out in 50 Branches, monitored by eight (8) Area Offices and supervised by the Operations Co-ordinator. The Management of the fund is at the Head Office.

The scheme is self-financing through the contributions of members and returns on the investments of the funds.The contribution rate is 18.5% (worker - 5.5%, employer 13.0%) of the earnings of a member.

Required InformationEdit

i)Full names,

ii)date of birth,

iii)address of residence,

iv)phone number,

v)parents details,

vi)details of biological children and spouses,

vii)citizenship,

viii)place of origin,

Need for the DocumentEdit

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is a statutory public Trust charged with the administration of Ghana's National Pension Scheme. The Trust is currently the biggest non-bank financial institution in the country.

It's primary responsibility is to replace part of lost income due to Old Age, Invalidity and payment of Survivors' benefits to deceased dependants. The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is governed by the National Pensions Act 2008, (Act 766) which has a contributory 3-tier Pension Scheme with SSNIT operating the Mandatory first-tier scheme.

The Pension Scheme administered by SSNIT has a registered active membership of over 1.2 million and over 140, 000 pensioners who collect their monthly pension from SSNIT.

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External LinksEdit

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/88539/101275/F563187713/GHA88539.pdf

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