By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi / Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, Aug. 21, GNA – Stakeholders have proposed a National Retiree Engagement Platform to connect retired professionals with institutions requiring their expertise.
The proposal was made at a High-Level Research Dissemination Seminar organised by the Centre for Retired Experts (CREX), following a survey on post-retirement engagement.
Dr Benedicta Quao, Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and co-Researcher, said the survey showed that retirees remained a largely untapped source of knowledge, experience and expertise.
She said many retirees were willing to contribute through mentoring, advisory services, leadership development programmes and community initiatives if appropriate structures were established to facilitate their engagement.
Dr Quao said the survey also found that many retirees were motivated by the desire to remain mentally active, share their knowledge, support younger generations and contribute to national development.
She said the study identified a significant institutional gap, with retirees reporting limited avenues through which they could offer their expertise to organisations seeking experienced professionals.
”A National Retiree Engagement Platform will provide a formal mechanism for matching retirees with opportunities where their skills and experience can be utilised effectively,” she said.
The platform, Dr Quao explained, could serve as a national database of retired professionals and enable organisations to engage them for advisory assignments, short-term projects, mentorship programmes, training and governance roles.
The study involved 559 pensioners and examined their willingness, motivations and capacity to undertake productive activities after mandatory retirement.
About 98 per cent of respondents said they were willing to register on a structured retirees’ platform, while 93 per cent said they were unaware of any existing platform through which they could offer their expertise.
About 88 per cent said they were prepared to serve as advisers or board members.
Prof Alexander Preko, Director of Research and Consultancy at UPSA and Chairperson of the seminar, said the initiative should be extended beyond Accra to retirees nationwide, particularly those in rural communities.
He said retired professionals in such communities traditionally contributed to community leadership, mediation and other social activities.
Prof Preko urged stakeholders to organise sector-specific roundtable discussions and policy dissemination programmes to link retired professionals with institutions that could benefit from their expertise.
He said the research centre had begun an initiative to identify accomplished Ghanaians, document their experiences and develop the interviews into case studies for use by graduate schools in teaching, research and examinations.
Prof Albert Martins, Executive Director of CREX, said the platform could enable groups of retired professionals to advise institutions on specialised issues.
He cited the possibility of retired military commanders advising Parliament on security matters.
Prof Martins said CREX was registered with the Registrar General’s Department and had the necessary certificate and licence to operate.
He, however, said the organisation faced resource constraints, including inadequate office space, personnel and funding, and appealed to the Government, institutions and individuals to support the initiative.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
21 Aug. 2026
Reporter: Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
[email protected]
Caption: pictures attached