Pensioners raise red flags over meagre pension

Accra, Oct 1, GNA - Having withheld an earlier planned demonstration over low

pensions, members of the Ghana Pensioners Association (GPA) on Thursday raised red

flags and called for a prompt increase. They urged Government to move from sympathy to action over the meager pensions

they received, and appealed to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)

and political parties to act on their plight, else they would advise themselves and hit the

streets. "We want the necessary adjustments to be made to also support other pensioners every

year," Mr Edward Ameyibor, General Secretary of the Association, said at a press

conference in Accra at the weekend. "Ladies and gentlemen, it would surprise you to know that after 20 ye= ars of being on

retirement, some of our members still earn pensions below Ghc100 a month. I= n fact, the

lowest paid pensioner gets Ghc52 a month," Mr Ameyibor said, adding: 93W= e are saying no

pensioner should earn anything lower that the minimum wage." The press conference came ahead of a planned meeting with the Ministry of

Employment and Social Welfare, the SSNIT and political parties on Friday, t= o precede the

United Nations International Day for Older Persons which falls on Saturday, October 1. There are presently about 107,000 SSNIT pensioners, and being a contributory

scheme, the GPA General Secretary said 93what you put in is what you get o= ver a period

when SSNIT harvests dividends from various investments it has made from our

contributions." The Pensioners registered their anger against the introduction of a meager Ghc10

increase last year, but said they were able to manage their anger by flowin= g into the

streets where the senior citizens of all categories were threatening to tak= e the matter to. Thereafter, the National Executive had met with the leadership of SSNI= T and the

Government over the issue, but not much came out of the discussion. "We had to live on the Ghc10 increment for the whole 2011," Mr Ameyib= or said, adding,

"We took the case to the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare in Mar= ch 2011, asking

for a pension incomes support, since it was obvious that SSNIT would not b= e of much

help." The GPA said all it had received so far was a lot of sympathy, and wondered why

SSNIT was sending older persons to their early graves by being 93close fisted", when it had

so much money. The Association welcomed higher pensions with the proposed across the board and

percentage system, and cautioned that members would not be able to guarante= e a

favourable reaction should the new figures fail to meet their expectations. "We want to take this opportunity to urge Government to move from sympathy to

action over our plight. "Salary levels in Ghana have always been low, so pensions are low, bu= t the cost of

living, medical bills and the markets are all beyond the resources availabl= e to pensioners. "We want Government to take more seriously our appeal for a pensions income support

by creating a special fund to support pensions below the minimum wage," M= r Ameyibor

said.