The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has ramped up efforts to bring Ghana’s informal sector workers into the national pension system, staging a high-profile regional engagement forum in Kumasi in collaboration with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as part of a nationwide outreach drive aimed at deepening pension literacy and participation.
The forum, held under the theme “Empowered Unions Secure the Future: Deepening Pension Literacy Across Ghana,” brought together workers, union officials, and SSNIT leadership to address persistent gaps in pension awareness — particularly among self-employed individuals who remain the most underserved segment of Ghana’s workforce.
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Addressing participants, Adam Sulley, Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations and Benefits at SSNIT, delivered an encouraging headline: the Trust’s fund has grown from GH¢20 billion in 2024 to GH¢25 billion in 2025, an increase he attributed to disciplined strategic investment. The figure signals a meaningful recovery in institutional confidence and financial health at one of Ghana’s most critical social protection bodies.
Sulley used the platform to urge workers to take a more active role in monitoring their own contributions, warning that retirement security depends not only on enrolment but on ensuring that employers remit payments on time and in full. “All workers must take advantage of SSNIT to secure their future,” he said. “We have strengthened our systems to ensure prompt payment of benefits, including death claims, once the right information is available.”
On the often-contentious issue of death benefits, Sulley provided a specific assurance: where accurate information on a deceased contributor is readily available, beneficiaries can expect to receive payments within approximately two weeks. He disclosed that SSNIT is working with the National Identification Authority and the Births and Deaths Registry to accelerate data access and streamline the claims processing pipeline — a move intended to reduce the frustration and delays that have historically undermined public trust in the system.
In a significant digital leap, Sulley also announced the rollout of a virtual branch system designed to improve service delivery and reduce the physical congestion that regularly overwhelms SSNIT offices nationwide.
TUC Secretary-General Joshua Ansah commended the initiative, describing such ground-level engagements as essential to rebuilding worker confidence in pension institutions. “This engagement is important in building confidence among workers,” Ansah said. “We urge all workers, especially those in the informal sector, to join SSNIT and secure their future.”
He stressed that the pension scheme remains one of the most reliable instruments of long-term financial security available to Ghanaian workers across all income levels.
