The government has cleared all outstanding pension contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for 2025 and paid GH₵156 million in advance towards its January 2026 obligation.  

The payments have improved the cash flow of the Trust, whose government-employed contributors account for 43 per cent of total contributions, supporting the scheme’s financial sustainability.  

Director-General of SSNIT, Kwesi Afreh Biney, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement with Organised Labour in Accra on Tuesday, commending the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant-General for ensuring prompt payment of contributions.  

He said the only outstanding contribution being validated was for July 2026, which was due from August 14, indicating that the government remained broadly current with its obligations to the pension scheme.  

“The government paid all contributions for 2025 on time and even made an advance payment of GH₵156 million in December 2025, covering part of the January 2026 obligation.   

“Timely government payments are critical to SSNIT’s stability. After years of previous delays, the government’s clearing of 2025 arrears and early payment for 2026 now helps ensure the Trust can pay over 265,000 pensioners and sustain the fund long term,” he said.  

The disclosure comes as SSNIT reports growth in contributions, investments and active membership, which rose to more than 2.17 million at the end of July 2026.  

“This marks a growth from 820,000 active members in 1991 to just over two million by the end of 2025 as the Trust’s new three-year corporate strategy targets an additional 300,000 members annually, aiming for 2.8 million active contributors by 2028,” Mr Biney said.  

SSNIT collected more than GH₵12 billion in contributions in 2025, while GH₵6.7 billion was collected in the first six months of 2026, reflecting increased membership and improved compliance.  

Assets under management rose from GH₵28.4 billion at the end of 2025 to GH₵35.4 billion by June 2026, an increase of GH₵7 billion in six months.  

Equities accounted for 59 per cent of the investment portfolio, with Mr Biney attributing the growth in assets partly to strong performance on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).  

Real returns on investment increased from above 10 per cent in 2025 to more than 18 per cent in June 2026, reflecting investment allocation across equities, fixed income, real estate and energy assets, he said.  

“SSNIT currently supports more than 265,000 pensioners, paying out GH₵3.83bn in benefits in the first half of 2026 alone, following GH₵6.7bn disbursed across the whole of 2025,” he noted.  

Mr Biney said SSNIT was expanding access to its services through a 24-hour virtual branch launched in December 2024 and a bank co-location programme with Ecobank, Fidelity, GCB and Consolidated Bank.  

The programme has established 15 service points, with SSNIT targeting 100 by the end of 2027.  

The Trust has also introduced a Member Value Proposition (MVP) initiative, offering discounts to contributors and pensioners through more than 49 partner businesses, as well as free co-branded Visa cards issued in partnership with Ecobank.  

Mr Biney said a telehealth service launched about three months ago provided pensioners with remote consultation and diagnosis and free medication delivery through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), particularly those in remote areas or with mobility constraints.  

He said the initiatives were intended to improve customer experience and support the long-term sustainability of the national pension scheme.  

The Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), Isaac Bampoe Addo, acknowledged improvements in SSNIT’s operations and investment returns compared with previous years.  

He urged SSNIT to ensure that improved investment returns directly benefited members and reaffirmed CLOGSAG’s commitment to supporting the Trust’s membership drive through pension literacy programmes and encouraging employees to comply with contribution payments.