The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is targeting about 2.8 million active members by 2028 as it steps up efforts to extend pension coverage to more Ghanaian workers.

The target forms part of measures by the Trust to respond to the changing nature of work and improve retirement security for workers in both the formal and informal sectors.

The Chairman of the SSNIT Board of Trustees, Nana Ansah Sasraku III, disclosed this at the 2026 SSNIT Stakeholder Engagement with the leadership of organised labour at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra yesterday.

The engagement brought together leaders of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), other organised labour groups, SSNIT board members and officials.

Nana Ansah Sasraku III described organised labour as a key partner in Ghana’s pension system, saying the success of SSNIT depended on the confidence and contributions of workers, employers, the government and other stakeholders.

He said the main objective was to ensure that every Ghanaian worker could retire with dignity, security and confidence.

The Chairman noted that SSNIT had served the country for generations but needed to continuously strengthen the scheme to meet the changing needs of future workers.

Furthermore, Nana Ansah Sasraku III pointed to the changing nature of employment in Ghana, saying many Ghanaians were now working as software developers, ride-hailing drivers, graphic designers, consultants, online traders, farmers, artisans and small business owners.

Many of those workers, he stressed, were outside the formal pension system, making it necessary to reform the scheme to make it more inclusive.

A presentation by SSNIT indicated that more than 80 per cent of Ghana’s workforce was in the informal sector.

It said the changing labour market also included remote workers, online businesses, lawyers serving clients abroad and Ghanaians working for foreign companies.

The presentation said the changes required SSNIT to adopt new approaches to reach more workers.

SSNIT currently has 2,179,295 active members as of July 2026, compared with about 820,000 members in 1991.

The Trust is targeting an annual increase of about 300,000 members as part of its plan to reach 2.8 million active members by 2028.

The presentation disclosed that total contributions exceeded GH¢12 billion by the end of 2025.

For the first six months of 2026, contributions stood at about GH¢6.7 billion.

The mandatory pension contribution is 18.5 per cent of a worker’s basic salary, comprising 11 per cent for SSNIT Tier One, 2.5 per cent for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and five per cent for Tier Two.

Nana Ansah Sasraku III stressed that trust, transparency, accountability and good service were vital to the sustainability of the pension system.

The Public Affairs Manager of SSNIT, Mr Lord Koramoa, said the engagement was more than an ordinary meeting.

He said although SSNIT and organised labour might sometimes have different views, they shared one goal — the welfare, dignity and future security of the Ghanaian worker.