NAGRAT raises concerns over delayed lump sum arrears for pensioners

Some pensioners who were members of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) are yet to receive differences in the lump sum arrears, owed them after retiring in January 2020.

Though the government has assured that differences occasioned by anomalies regarding the three-tier pension scheme will be addressed, the President of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu, says he has not seen any progress.

Commenting on the government’s failure to disburse the money, Mr. Carbonu described the state of affairs as an injustice toward affected teachers.

“We need to quickly look at this impasse because, for all these years, these people have been working for the state. Some have worked for 40 years. Some have worked for 35 years and so on and so forth.”

NAGRAT said it suspects the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is investing the teacher’s contributions thus “value has to accrue on the money invested.”

“Being paid this paltry lump sum from SSNIT after retirement is worrying,” Mr. Carbonu added.

The last pension increment was in January 2020 which saw the monthly payments going up by 11 percent

Mr. Carbonu noted that teachers also have issues of past credit because “some monies were still going to SSNIT which should have been transferred to the NPRA [National Pensions Regulatory Authority]” following the introduction of the three-tier pension scheme.

Act 766 was to provide for pension reform in the country by the introduction of a contributory three-tier pension scheme.

It also allowed for the establishment of a National Pensions Regulatory Authority to oversee the administration and management of registered pension schemes and trustees of registered schemes and the establishment of SSNIT to manage the basic national social security scheme to cater for the first tier of the contributory three-tier scheme.

“All these things and the inappropriate way of doing things have created problems for the retiree because if we are doing things rightly and honestly… the worker after he or she has served this nation for many years will not be going home as a pauper.”

Concerns over the value of pensions have been raised by other groups of workers.

The Greater Accra Regional chapter of the Trades Union Congress for example called for a review of the formula for calculating pensions.

The Council feels the National Pension Act, Act 766 has not improved the plight of pensioners since the transition from the PNDCL 247.

 

Source: Citinewsroom.com