Private school owners desire a reduction in the ratio of SSNIT contributions

Members of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools have encouraged the administration to alter the amount that is paid into the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

Private schools are dealing with uncontrolled difficulties, according to Rev. Kow Richardson, a former chairman of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools and a national executive member of senior high schools in Effutu.

He made the point that private school taxes are crippling them, and as a result, the majority of private schools have shut down, especially when it comes to paying SSNIT to their employees.

Uncle Rich Schools’ creator and owner bemoans the need for the government to reduce some of the taxes that private schools pay in order for them to grow and hire more staff members, hence reducing the unemployment rate.

He thinks that while it is required of all firms to pay SSNIT CONTRIBUTIONS to their workers, the percentages on the payment are excessively high. For instance, if an employer gives his employee GHC1,000, he must take 13% off of it, add 5%, and make SSNIT payments. When the month is through, how much will he get paid?

“The rate is high right now. Assume you get GHC 1000 and are required to contribute GHC 269 to SSNIT. That would leave what? I suggest that the proportion be lowered by 10%. Parliament should change the legislation. When the individual turns 50, we might take a constitutional amendment into consideration.

In Ghana, employees are required to pay into the SSNIT Scheme during their working careers in order to earn monthly pensions upon retirement or incapacitation. The contributor’s designated beneficiaries will receive the cash survivor’s benefit after his or her death.

Employees in the public and commercial sectors are eligible to join the SSNIT Pension Scheme. Only those individuals expressly exempted by the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992—officers, members of the Ghanaian Armed Forces, and certain categories of people—are exempt. For those who work for themselves, the programme is optional.

The Trust’s main duty is to compensate employees in Ghana for some of the income lost due to old age, incapacity, or death of a member in cases when dependents get a lump sum payout. It is also in charge of paying emigration benefits to a non-Ghanaian member who is permanently relocating elsewhere.