By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi/Jibril Abdul Mumuni, GNA
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA – Ninety-six per cent of pensioners surveyed in Ghana have expressed the willingness to work beyond the mandatory retirement age, highlighting a significant gap between retirees’ desire to remain productive and the structures available to engage their expertise.
The Centre for Retired Experts (CREX) conducted the study in February 2026 to examine how retirees across the country could continue to contribute to national productivity after leaving formal employment.
The study, which involved 559 pensioners, assessed their willingness, motivations and capacity to undertake productive activities after mandatory retirement.
At a high-level research dissemination seminar at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Dr Adam Salifu, a Lecturer at UPSA and co-researcher, said nearly all the respondents were willing to mentor young professionals, while about 88 per cent were prepared to serve as advisers or board members.
He said about 98 per cent were willing to register on a structured platform for retirees, although approximately 93 per cent said they were unaware of any existing platform through which they could offer their expertise.
“The problem is about coordination and not willingness. Who is there to coordinate these people? They are willing to work, but we don’t have the mechanism there to coordinate them,” he said.
The study also found that about 86 per cent of respondents rejected the assertion that retirement had reduced their sense of usefulness to society, with approximately 87 per cent still considering themselves useful to national development.
Dr Salifu said about 97 per cent agreed that there was a gap between the potential of retirees and the systems available to engage them productively.
He said more than 50 per cent of the respondents preferred the retirement age to be extended to 65 years or beyond, suggesting that many considered the current mandatory retirement age of 60 too early.
On well-being, more than 95 per cent of respondents reported stable physical and mental conditions, although Dr Salifu cautioned that that did not necessarily mean they were financially better off.
The study found that only about one in five retirees remained professionally active, with most others engaged mainly in religious, social, community and family-related activities.
Dr Salifu said financial rewards were not the primary motivation for post-retirement engagement, with respondents more interested in remaining mentally active and contributing to national development.
Income supplementation accounted for only about 14 per cent of the motivations cited.
In terms of preferred sectors, governance and development activities each attracted about 21 per cent of respondents, followed by business and education, while agriculture and health recorded comparatively lower preferences.
Dr Salifu attributed the lower preference for agriculture partly to the labour-intensive nature of the sector and its limited mechanisation, while the response on health could have been influenced by the composition of the sample.
He said retirees also demonstrated significant availability for post-retirement work, with about 98 per cent willing to volunteer if transportation and meals were provided.
More than 84 per cent said they could commit between one and four hours a day, while more than 90 per cent could work between one and four days a week.
The study further found that about 90 per cent were willing to mentor young professionals, 88 per cent were willing to serve as advisers, and about 98 per cent were willing to work in rural and deprived communities.
Dr Salifu said the findings demonstrated that Ghana had a substantial pool of experienced human capital that could be deployed for national development if appropriate institutional mechanisms were established.
The event also marked the launch of a broader national initiative to redefine retirement, moving away from an end-of-career mindset towards viewing retirement as a phase of leadership, mentorship and continued national contribution.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Patrick Ofoe Nudzi