The National Pensioners’ Association (NPA) has expressed gratitude to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for taking public education to their ‘doorstep’ and also explaining the reasoning behind the 2019 pension indexation.

They expressed these sentiments when the General Manager, Benefits, Mr Robert Owusu-Sekyere participated in a meeting which took place at Tema Community 1, Community Centre at the weekend. Over 200 participants attended.

As part of efforts to reach out to clients, SSNIT scheduled a meeting with the National Pensioners’ Association, to explain to them what informed the 11 percent increment on pensions for 2019.

According to the Association, this is the first time SSNIT has come that close to explain what indexation was and what informs it and allowing beneficiaries to seek the necessary clarification.

“Indexation is a technique to adjust pension payments in order to maintain the purchasing power of pensioners. Pensions are normally indexed to wage inflation or some other rates such as price inflation,” Mr Owusu-Sekyere explained.

He said three key issues informs the calculation of indexation; the average salary growth of active contributors which stands at 12.66 percent, the annual average change in Consumer Price Index which is 9.50 percent and the financial implication on the Fund in terms of liquidity and sustainability of the Scheme.

Mr Owusu-Sekyere assured pensioners that their contributions were safe and were being put into the right investments to yield good returns and ensure the sustainability of the Scheme.