The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has announced that its Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) could see a significant rise in enrollments, potentially reaching 250,000 people by the end of the coming year. This projection follows the successful rollout of the initiative, which has already enrolled 120,000 self-employed individuals since its launch in May 2023.
In an interview with journalists during the Operation-A-Thon campaign in Obuasi, Mr. Joseph Poku, Chief Actuary at SSNIT, stated that SSNIT targets more than 250,000 enrollments by next year. The ‘Operation-A-Thon’ (Ops-A-Thon) is part of SSNIT’s ongoing efforts to educate self-employed individuals about the benefits of the SSNIT Scheme and encourage them to enroll. As part of this initiative, SSNIT staff are creating awareness at business centres, markets, and some towns.
The SEED agenda was introduced to expand the reach of social security coverage to Ghana’s self-employed workforce, which forms a substantial portion of the economy. As of September 2023, the campaign has brought 120,000 new members into the SSNIT scheme, helping self-employed individuals access pension benefits and social security protections.
SSNIT is optimistic about its growth trajectory, projecting that the initiative could enroll an additional 130,000 individuals within the next year, pushing total enrollments to 250,000. This surge is expected as the organization continues to engage self-employed workers across various sectors through targeted outreach efforts.
The SEED campaign is designed to address the low levels of social security coverage among self-employed workers, who often lack the formal employment structures that offer automatic contributions to SSNIT. Through SEED, self-employed individuals can contribute to the SSNIT pension scheme, ensuring they have financial security during retirement and access to disability and survivor benefits.
The drive is focusing on enrolling individuals from sectors such as traders, artisans, transport operators, farmers, and professionals in informal businesses. These groups traditionally fall outside the scope of formal employment structures and are often left vulnerable to economic shocks without a retirement safety net.
