Wa, Aug. 4, GNA – The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has assured its readiness to continue with its partnership with various stakeholders to ensure the safety of pension funds to guarantee secured income security for all workers during retirement.
According to the NPRA, pensions have played a very significant role in the lives of workers and the economy of Ghana, and that the sector’s contribution would not be complete without the enormous role of the sector actors to that feat.
Mr Alhassan Yakubu Fuseini, the Tamale Zonal Manager of NPRA gave the assurance during the Regional Pensions Learning Alliance Platform meeting in Wa on the theme: “Driving pension penetration in Northern Ghana through learning and information sharing; the role of pension sector actors”.
He noted that the informal sector pension contribution was low saying, “It is estimated that about 85 per cent of the country’s workforce are found in the informal sector”.
He said out of this, only one percent contributed to one form of a pension scheme or the other, which NPRA considered as paltry.
He said it was, therefore, the desire of the regulator to enhance the penetration of pensions by widening the pension net, especially among the informal sector.
Mr Fuseini noted that to meet the goal, it would be critical for pension sector actors including workers and employers to understand how Ghana’s pension sector works and how it could be scaled up to reach more people.
He noted, however, that the critical factor that was needed to drive the pension sector to effectively address the challenges was missing, citing knowledge, learning, and best practices as key to driving the pension sector.
He indicated that the intent of the Regional Pensions Learning Alliance meeting was to create a pensions sector in the Upper West Region that would not only be learning from each other but would also innovate to improve the quality of pension services and adapt to emerging changes in the sector in Ghana and beyond.
“Today, we are here to interrogate knowledge, innovations, pension systems, policies and laws on pensions, standards and practices with the view of using the outcomes to formulate, review, and advocate pension sector policies, standards, and operating guidelines top scale-up pension penetration in Ghana”, Mr Fuseini said.
Naa Ingah Mwiniseviri, Lose Naa who is also the Acting Upper West Regional Secretary for the Trades Union Congress (TUC) thanked the NPRA for the education, which according to him would enable them to also educate their members.
Superintendent Franklin Kwasi Kramoh, the Wa Municipal Police Commander, described the meeting as very important and that it opened their eyes to the fact that as a CAP 30 member, he could still contribute to another pension scheme to secure a successful retirement.
He said initially, he did not understand the three-tier pension scheme, adding that with the education, he was going to give it a try.
GNA