The monthly pension payment for 2024 has been increased by 15 per cent by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in consultation with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
Beneficiaries would from 18 January 2024 see all their monthly pensions change by a flat rate of 10%, plus a redistributed amount of GHC73.10p for both low and high pension earners, Chief Actuary at SSNIT, Joseph Poku said at a press conference in Accra on Thursday January 11.
“The indexation is a technique we use to adjust pensions payment to help maintain the purchasing power of pensioners”, Mr. Poku said.
Providing more details, he said all pensioners on the SSNIT Pension Payroll as of December 31, 2023 will have their monthly pension increased by a Fixed Rate of 10% plus a redistributed flat amount of GH¢79.10.
He pointed out that the effective increase in pensions would therefore range from 10.05% for the highest-earning pensioner to 36.37% for the lowest-earning pensioner.
“The 15% indexation rate will result in an additional pension expenditure of ¢697.64 million. The total expenditure in 2024 for pensioners on the Pension Payroll as at 31st December 2023 will be ¢5,387.72 million”.
“Redistribution is a mechanism applied to the indexation rate to cushion low-earning pensioners in conformity with the solidarity principle of social security. The SSNIT Scheme, like any other defined benefit scheme, pays pensions which mirror the earned salaries on which contributions were paid,” Mr Poku said.