Monday, December 10, 2007

ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR REVIEW OF PENSION ALLOWANCE (Page 20)

Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

The Brong Ahafo Regional branch of the National Pensioners Association of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has called on SSNIT to review the 12-year maximum life expectancy age for SSNIT Pensioners to match with their counterparts under the CAP 30 scheme.
According to them, workers who started the SSNIT Pension Scheme and helped to make SSNIT what it is now still receive meagre allowances as compared with their counterparts whose salaries and allowances are consolidated.
They therefore called for a review of the pension allowance to favour non-consolidated pensioners.
In a nine-point resolution adopted at a meeting held in Sunyani recently, the association observed that the aim and purpose of establishing the SSNIT Pension Scheme had been defeated.
“We were promised and assured of affordable houses, better and secured monthly allowances but the authorities have not yet lived up to their promises,” it said.
The resolution stated that it was through pensioners’ instrumentality and agitation that the President, Mr J.A. Kufuor, appointed the Bediako Commission on Pensions, but unfortunately the white paper issued by the government did not meet the expectation of SSNIT pensioners.
“It is an undeniable fact that by the Implementation of Memorandum of Understanding between the Civil Servants Association and the government, the government’s pensioners allowances were increased by 50 per cent with effect from October, 2006. We humbly appeal to the government to plead with SSNIT to increase our allowances to match with our counterparts on government pension, as we all go to the same market and serve the same country in various capacities,” it stated.

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