According to SSNIT, once a pensioner’s name was deleted, he or she would not have access to his or her monthly pension, adding that the trust wanted to avoid paying pensions to undeserved persons.

“If by February 1, 2020 you have not done it, we will stop paying your pension because we will assume that you are no longer alive,” the Corporate Public Affairs Manager of SSNIT, Ms Afua Sarkodie, told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.

She said in the event that some pensioners were not able to take advantage of the opportunity given them to do the biometric registration and their names were deleted, they should go to any SSNIT office, “and once we verify their biometric details, we will quickly restore their names and pay their pensions”.

The Public Affairs Manager explained that deleting the names of pensioners was not a final decision, since SSNIT had an obligation to pay them.

She said when the system was digitised, it helped to eliminate inaccuracies, corruption and other challenges.

“So we just want to make sure that we are paying pensions to the right people,” she said.

Call SSNIT

Ms Sarkodie indicated that a pensioner who could not go to the nearest SSNIT office to register could call the SSNIT office and officials would be dispatched to his or her home to register him or her.

She said many pensioners had done the biometric registration, leaving a few, noting that it was the conviction of the trust that those who were yet to do so would meet the January 31 deadline.

Notice

In a notice published in the Monday, January 27, 2019 issue of the Daily Graphic, SSNIT said in 2014, members of the SSNIT pension scheme, including pensioners, were requested to register biometrically.

The notice stated: “Subsequently the trust has issued several reminders through various channels for members and pensioners to re-enrol. However, there are some members and pensioners who are yet to go through the biometric registration process.”

It reminded all pensioners who were yet to do the biometric registration to visit the nearest SSNIT Branch not later than January 31.
Alternatively, pensioners with mobility challenges were advised to contact 0302-611622 to schedule home visits.

Benefits

Ms Sarkodie said asking pensioners to do the biometric registration was for their own benefit and that of SSNIT, so that money was not paid to wrongful persons.

Regarding the SSNIT card, she said: “Now you don’t need a card to do anything.

All you need is a valid social security number, so if you come to our office we will just ask you for your name and your social security number, and once you provide those, you can go ahead with the transactions you want to do.”