Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kwasi Afreh Biney, has cautioned against any attempt to unilaterally increase Ghana’s retirement age.

He insists that such a decision must emerge from broad national consultations rather than a single institution.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr Afreh Biney acknowledged that changing demographic trends have strengthened arguments for extending the retirement age beyond the current threshold.

Responding to a suggestion that many retirees remain active and continue working in the private sector after leaving formal employment, he agreed that Ghanaians are living longer and remaining productive well into their later years.

“I agree that the demographic numbers have shifted rapidly. A lot more people today in Ghana are living longer, are much stronger even after 60, I agree,” he said.

His comments come amid growing discussions about retirement age reforms in many countries as populations live longer and pension systems face increasing pressure.

For Mr Afreh Biney, however, the question is not whether people can work longer, but whether the country is prepared to balance the interests of pension sustainability, employment creation and opportunities for younger generations.

“But a decision to extend retirement goes beyond just that. You need to consider factors like your employment rate, unemployment numbers, availability of jobs,” he explained.

According to him, any proposal to raise the retirement age must be subjected to careful national scrutiny because of its far-reaching implications for the labour market and the wider economy.

He argued that all relevant stakeholders must be involved in evaluating the benefits and trade-offs before a final decision is reached.

“So we all need to go and sit together as stakeholders, brainstorm, deliberate, and ultimately come to the point where we all make a decision rather than an individual institution like SSNIT deciding, guys, let’s run,” he said.

Mr Afreh Biney noted that extending the retirement age would have clear financial implications for the pension scheme.

“Because, of course, if you extend the pension years from, let’s say, 60 now to 65 or 67, what it practically means is that my payout now will reduce whilst more contributions will come in,” he explained.

But he warned that the financial gains to the pension system cannot be considered in isolation.

The SSNIT Director-General questioned whether delaying retirement could inadvertently worsen employment prospects for young people entering the workforce.

“How do we just oppose that against probably creating another backlog of five, seven years on unemployed youth who could have come into the employment bracket?” he asked.

He maintained that policymakers must carefully assess the consequences of any change, including what may be gained and what could be lost.

“So we need all of us to sit down, look at the numbers, look at the various alternatives, the opportunity cost of taking a particular decision against the other, and then we take a much more comprehensive decision,” he said.