Kwesi Afreh Biney
The Concerned SSNIT Pensioners Forum (CSPF) has rejected the 10 percent pension increase announced by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for 2026.
According to the group, the upward adjustment is inadequate and insufficient in addressing their worsening living conditions especially low-income pensioners.
The group, in a statement, said while it welcomed the upward adjustment, the increase falls short of cushioning pensioners against rising costs of living.
The CSPF recalled that on November 19, 2025, it formally petitioned SSNIT to urgently review pension levels and raise the minimum pension to what it describes as a “living level”. The petition was also copied to the Minister for Finance, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Authority, seeking their intervention.
The Forum, said it had proposed a minimum monthly pension of GH¢600 and called for an average pension increase of between 15 and 20 percent to help restore the real value of pensions, which it said has been severely eroded over the years by annual adjustments that consistently lag behind inflation and the national minimum wage.
The Forum argued that the 2025 minimum monthly pension of GH¢396.58 was grossly inadequate, noting that pensioners receiving that amount could barely afford basic medication and were increasingly becoming dependent on others for survival.
The CSPF warned that annual percentage increases are meaningless without a guaranteed minimum living pension, stressing that many retirees still struggle to afford food, medicine, and basic healthcare despite yearly adjustments.
It further stressed that the current focus on percentage increases overlooks the more fundamental issue of whether pension income is sufficient to meet basic survival needs, particularly as healthcare costs rise with age.
10% Monthly Pensions Increment
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) announced a 10% increase in monthly pensions for 2026 which includes all pensioners on its payroll as of December 31, 2025.
The National Pensions Scheme stated that the 10% indexation, nearly double the 5.4% inflation rate recorded in December 2024.
“It is also important to state that the current indexation is higher than the recent inflation rate. What that means is that every pensioner on the payroll has been covered by inflation,” said the Director-General of SSNIT, Kwesi Afreh Biney, in the statement to announce the upward adjustment.
Speaking at a short ceremony in Accra, SSNIT noted that the 2026 indexation rate was determined based on several factors, including salary growth among active contributors, projected average inflation of 8% + 2% by the end of 2025, and the overall impact on the Fund’s long-term sustainability.
It further added that the new indexation was approved in consultation with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), and in accordance with Section 80 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766).
Additionally, SSNIT announced that it has increased the minimum monthly pension from GH¢300 to GH¢400, representing a 36% increment, benefiting approximately 2,964 new pensioners. For existing pensioners, the minimum pension has been increased to GH¢409.56.
On the growth and sustainability of the scheme, the Trust revealed plans to enroll over 200,000 new contributors in 2026.
It concluded that pension increases will vary, with higher earners receiving increases closer to the 10% indexation, while lower-income pensioners benefit more from the flat amount and strengthened minimum pension.
National Dialogue
The Forum is however calling for an urgent national dialogue involving SSNIT, policymakers, organised labour, pensioner associations, economic planners, and civil society groups to establish a sustainable and realistic minimum pension framework.
It maintains that just as Ghana enforces a national minimum wage, the country must also adopt a national minimum pension policy to ensure retirees can live with dignity.
A Business Desk Report