Digitalisation moves SSNIT active membership to 2.1 million

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has recorded 2.1 million active members, with the private sector contributing two-thirds of beneficiaries, Mr. Kwesi Afreh Biney, DirectorGeneral off the Trust, has disclosed.

Speaking at the 2025 SSNIT Media Connect in Accra, he attributed the growth to digital transformation and targeted enrolment campaigns in the informal sector.

“As we speak today, we have close to 2.1 million active members. When we say active members, we are referencing people who have contributed at least, a year,” he stated.

Mr Biney said the private sector accounted for approximately 67 per cent of current beneficiaries, adding, “We have 96,000 plus private sector establishments, and currently, two-thirds of our beneficiaries actually come from the private sector.”

He noted that the increase in private sector participation reflected improved formalisation and compliance among employers.

Mr. Biney revealed that annual contributions had reached GHS7.6 billion, while pension payouts to retirees totalled over GHS5 billion as of September 2025.

He highlighted SSNIT’s efforts to expand coverage to the informal sector, which comprises about 80 per cent of Ghana’s workforce, including the launch of the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) in May 2023.

The campaign, he said, had enrolled over 100,000 self-employed contributors.

Mr. Biney expressed confidence that continued digital innovation and strategic partnerships would enhance service delivery and extend coverage, particularly among informal workers.

He traced the evolution of Ghana’s pension system from a provident fund managed by the Social Insurance Corporation in the 1960s to the current three-tier structure introduced in 2010.

Under the current scheme, the total contribution rate is 18.5 per cent of basic salary: 13.5 per cent to SSNIT’s Tier One, five per cent to Tier Two, and 2.5 per cent to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Mrs. Victoria Gifty Abaidoo, Corporate Affairs Manager of SSNIT, acknowledged the media’s role in shaping public perception and educating citizens on the value of pensions.

“The media helps share facts and real stories of beneficiaries, ensures public understanding of contribution importance, including the value and benefits and offers opportunities for updates and engagement,” she said.

“As gatekeepers, the information you share generates public trust; help us share the facts, affect the reconstruction and tell the real stories of the leading contributors, pensioners, and beneficiaries whose lives have been transformed by students,” she added.

Mrs. Abaidoo said the Media Connect platform aimed to strengthen collaboration between SSNIT and the media in advancing social protection.

Historical records show that Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, announced plans in 1960 to establish a National Pensions and Insurance Fund for all workers.

On 17th February 1965, Parliament passed the Social Security Act, 1965 (Act 279), to create a Social Security Fund for old age, invalidity, and survivors’ benefits.

In November 1972, NRC Decree 127 established SSNIT as an autonomous body to administer the scheme. Ghana became a member of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) after converting the Provident Fund into a Pension Scheme in 1991.

Source: GNA

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