Accra, May 16, GNA- Mr Omar Seidu, the Head of Demographics Statistics at the Ghana Statistical Service, has emphasised prioritising issues of the aged and leveraging available data to formulate policies on the Aging population.
He said more 60 plus year olds remained in active employment just for the necessities while closed to 75 per cent spend their income on food and accommodation.
Mr Seidu was speaking during a panel discussion on Reliable Retirement Planning organised by Negotiated Benefits Trust Company.
The discussions centered on the government’s policy directions in ensuring retirement income security for all workers, regulatory and administrative provisions in maintaining safety and reliable pension benefits for contributors in Ghana.
It also had discussions on statistics on the aged population 60 plus, their socio-demographic and economic challenges and policies amid measures adopted by service providers in ensuring safety and sound growth of Funds under management.
Mr Seidu said nearly two-thirds depended on agriculture for their livelihoods.
The Coordinator for SDGs said if these older persons spend their old age in farming then there was a problem.
He said the active working class would have to appreciate and make rightful investments towards their pension.
He said, “if we do not pay attention to issues that promote the interest of the Aging population, there would be trouble.”
Mr Ernest Amartey-Vondee, the Director of Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, commended Negotiated Benefits Trust Company for its contribution to the development of the pension industry.
He said many people were anxious of issues of pension because of lack of planning.
He said pension planning entailed many things, including health care, leisure, accommodation, will preparation and investment.
Mr Amartey-Vondee said the government over the years had made some reforms in the pension regulations to improve on the sector.
“I am impressed with the way the private pension funds had been managed over the years,” he said.
He said the National Pension Regulatory Authority was in the process of mechanising its regulatory practices to enhance supervision.
Mr William Aseidu Yeboah, Chief Executive Officer at Negotiated Benefits Trust Company Limited, called on industry players to take advantage of the rapid technological advancement to expand operations.
He said the industry needed to work together to regain the trust from stakeholders.
He said it was the intention if the company to focus on educating the citizenry on the importance of pension planning to take care of their future.
Negotiated Benefits Trust Company limited used the opportunity to launch its Gold Plan, a personal pension plan.
It will cater for the saving needs as well as retirement needs of individual contributors in either the formal or informal sectors.
GNA