SSNIT, Tier 2 and Tier 3: how pension contributions work in Ghana

Every month, a Ghanaian payroll sends pension money to two places, and sometimes three. Most mistakes come from mixing them up: paying Tier 2 into SSNIT, calculating on gross pay instead of basic, or forgetting that the 2026 ceiling moved.

Here is how the three tiers fit together under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766).

The three tiers in one table

	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
What it is	Basic national social security	Mandatory occupational pension	Voluntary provident fund or personal pension
Who manages it	SSNIT	A private trustee licensed by the NPRA	A private trustee licensed by the NPRA
Rate	13.5% of basic salary	5% of basic salary	Whatever the employer and employee agree
Who pays	5.5% from the employee, 8% from the employer	The employer	Either or both
Compulsory	Yes	Yes	No

The total compulsory contribution is 18.5% of basic salary: 5.5% from the employee and 13% from the employer. The employer’s 13% is split, with 8 points going to SSNIT and 5 points going to the Tier 2 scheme.

A worked example

Take an employee on a basic salary of GH₵5,000 a month.

	Amount	Goes to
Employee contribution (5.5%)	GH₵275.00	Deducted from salary
Employer contribution (13%)	GH₵650.00	Paid on top of salary
Tier 1 remittance (13.5%)	GH₵675.00	SSNIT
Tier 2 remittance (5%)	GH₵250.00	Your Tier 2 trustee

So the employee’s payslip shows GH₵275 deducted, your cost of employment includes GH₵650 on top, and you make two separate payments: GH₵675 to SSNIT and GH₵250 to your trustee.

The employee’s GH₵275 also comes off their income before PAYE is worked out, so it lowers their tax. Our guide to the September 2026 PAYE bands shows that calculation step by step.

The 2026 ceiling and floor

Contributions are calculated on basic salary, but only up to a ceiling. From 1 January 2026, SSNIT raised the maximum insurable earnings from GH₵61,000 to GH₵69,000 a month.

• For anyone earning a basic salary above GH₵69,000, calculate the contributions on GH₵69,000. That makes the largest possible Tier 1 remittance GH₵9,315 a month.
• At the other end, the floor follows the minimum wage. With the 2026 daily minimum wage at GH₵21.77, the monthly minimum is GH₵587.79, which puts the smallest Tier 1 remittance at about GH₵79.35.

If your payroll still caps at GH₵61,000, your highest earners have been under-contributed since January.

Tier 3, and why staff ask for it

Tier 3 is voluntary, but it is popular because of the tax relief. The GRA allows provident fund contributions of up to 16.5% of basic salary to come off income before PAYE. Count the employee’s and the employer’s Tier 3 contributions together against that limit.

On a GH₵5,000 basic salary, that means up to GH₵825 a month into Tier 3 with full relief. Anything above the limit is still allowed, but the excess is taxed.

A simple Tier 3 policy many employers use: the employer matches the employee’s contribution up to a set percentage, both paid to the same trustee.

Deadlines

• Tier 1: SSNIT expects the contribution report at the end of each month and payment no later than the 14th of the following month. Late payment attracts penalties, and SSNIT does take defaulting employers to court.
• Tier 2: pay your trustee on the schedule in your scheme’s trust deed, usually monthly alongside Tier 1.
• PAYE is separate, and due to the GRA by the 15th.

Put both pension payments in the same week every month. Employers who pay SSNIT and forget the trustee, or the other way round, are the ones who end up with gaps in employees’ records.

Common mistakes

1. Calculating on gross pay. Pension contributions in Ghana are on basic salary, not on allowances.
2. Paying all 18.5% to SSNIT. Tier 2 goes to a licensed trustee, not to SSNIT.
3. Using last year’s ceiling. Check the maximum insurable earnings each January.
4. Missing new joiners. An employee needs an SSNIT number from their first month. Collect it during onboarding.
5. Treating all of Tier 3 as tax-free. Only the combined employee and employer amount within 16.5% of basic gets the relief.

How Eban handles it

Eban’s Ghana payroll calculates the 5.5% and 13% on basic salary, splits the 13.5% for SSNIT from the 5% for Tier 2, and shows each as its own line, so your remittance figures come straight from the payroll run. Tier 3 is set per employee, and anything above the 16.5% limit is taxed automatically. You can also switch SSNIT off for an individual employee where your scheme requires it.