The Concerned SSNIT Pensioners Forum (CSPF) has criticised the Social Security and National Insurance Trust’s (SSNIT) announcement of a 10 per cent average pension increase for 2026, describing it as inadequate to address the worsening economic conditions faced by retirees, particularly those on low incomes.
In a press release dated January 10, 2026, the Forum said that although it welcomes the annual indexation, the adjustment “does little to curb pensioner poverty and fails to reflect the real cost of living.” It noted that many retirees continue to struggle to afford food, medication and basic healthcare despite the yearly percentage increases announced by SSNIT.
“The annual percentage increases have become meaningless without a guaranteed minimum living pension,” the Forum stated, adding that “pension income today cannot meet the basic survival needs of many retirees.”
The CSPF revealed that it petitioned SSNIT on November 19, 2025, calling for urgent reforms to raise the minimum pension to a livable level and to address what it described as “longstanding injustices” in the pension adjustment system. Copies of the petition were also sent to the Minister for Finance, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Authority to seek their intervention.
In the petition, the Forum proposed that the minimum monthly pension be increased to GH¢600 and that pensions receive an average increment of between 15 and 20 per cent in 2026. It argued that the 2025 minimum pension of GH¢396.58 was “woefully inadequate,” stressing that the amount “cannot even cover the cost of medication for many elderly pensioners.”
“Pensioners receiving this amount have become a burden on others for their sustenance,” the statement said.
The group said it met SSNIT officials on December 10, 2025, and was assured that its concerns would be forwarded to the appropriate approving authorities. However, it has since raised questions over what it described as inconsistencies in SSNIT’s public statements on minimum pension levels in its 2025 and 2026 indexation announcements.
“We are calling on SSNIT to clearly state what a minimum pension in Ghana is,” the Forum said, noting that conflicting figures in official communications have created confusion among pensioners.
According to the CSPF, the continued emphasis on percentage increases ignores the lived realities of ageing retirees. “Increments happen every year, yet many pensioners still cannot afford food, medicine or basic healthcare,” the group noted, adding that healthcare costs rise significantly with age.
The pensioners are now calling for the adoption of a national minimum pension policy, similar to the national minimum wage, to ensure retirees can live with dignity. They are also advocating for an inclusive national dialogue involving SSNIT, policymakers, organised labour, pensioner associations, economic planners and civil society to establish a sustainable and livable pension framework.
“Pensioners have served Ghana with dedication and deserve to live with dignity, not in destitution,” the Forum said, pledging to continue engaging SSNIT and relevant state institutions in its push for pension justice, equity and improved welfare for retirees.
