The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will expand its bank co-location service points from 15 to 100 by the end of 2027 to improve access to pension services nationwide.

The initiative is intended to increase membership, bring services closer to contributors and pensioners, and reduce the cost of establishing standalone SSNIT offices.

Mr Kwesi Afreh Biney, Director-General of SSNIT, disclosed this when officials of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) paid a courtesy call on the Trust to discuss areas of institutional collaboration.

He said the co-location programme was a strategic priority aimed at making SSNIT services more accessible while supporting the sustainability of the national pension scheme.

“So, today, if you are at Akosombo, you no longer need to move to Somanya to have SNNIT services; you go to GCB Akosombo, and we are there to serve you. If you are at Mankessim, you don’t need to move to Cape Coast or Swedru, you just go to GCB Mankessim and we are there to serve you,” he explained.

“By the time we are done with this, which likely will be next year, we would have had about one hundred co-location points, and this will bring us closer to people,” he said.

Mr Biney said SSNIT was also introducing services beyond core pension administration to make participation more attractive, including simplified contribution collection through WhatsApp.

He said the Trust had negotiated discounts of between five and 30 per cent with 49 partner businesses, including airlines, health facilities, shopping centres, bridal shops, and food and beverage companies, to provide additional value to members.

On the informal sector, Mr Biney said SSNIT had in recent years implemented targeted strategies to enrol traders, artisans and other workers, with about 55,000 new members reached year-to-date.

Officials of GNA and SSNIT agreed to maintain regular engagement to strengthen public education and institutional collaboration.

GNA also invited SSNIT to use its newly modernised television studio for public education and media outreach activities.

Mr Albert Kofi Owusu, General Manager of GNA, welcomed SSNIT’s expansion drive, saying reaching people in rural and informal communities remained a major communication challenge.

He pledged the Agency’s support through its network of regional and district reporters and stringers to deepen public understanding of pensions and initiatives aimed at increasing membership.

“We have reporters all over the country, in the rural areas. We will offer this network of journalists to help disseminate information about the new SSNIT services and to gather feedback from the public,” he assured.

Mr Owusu said GNA’s modernisation programme would also enable it to produce videos, infographics and other digital content to support public education, adding, “anytime you want to engage the media, just call us.”