Mr John Mbroh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), says the Pensions Law allows contributors under the 3rd Tier to use part of their contributions to access mortgages.

‘Individuals who have opted for the third-tier pension scheme have the option of contributing into a savings and pensions accounts under the personal pension schemes and a provident fund, which provides them the opportunity to leverage their contributions to finance their primary residence, among others.

‘In addition, the 3rd tier offers a provident fund scheme,’ Mr Mbroh made this known when he received a 10-member delegation from The Gambia, currently in the country to under study Ghana’s informal pensions system in his office.

A statement signed by Nana Sifa Twum, the Head of Corporate Affairs, NPRA and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the ten-member delegation the team was in Ghana to gain insights into the operational framework of both public and private Pension.

The Gambia, whi
ch has an estimated population of 2.8 million people has 80 percent of its working force in the informal sector who are not on any form of pension scheme.

Mr Mbroh noted that Ghana has come a long way in providing a vibrant pension scheme for citizens within the informal economy.

He said the Authority has initiated policies and programmes to collaborate with identifiable professional associations, religious groups, and Trade Unions to enroll more workers in the informal economy on pension schemes.

He emphasised the need to inculcate savings habits and a fruitful consumer consumption pattern into the citizenry.

The CEO said though the government had put in place social interventions to help cushion old-age people in society, much more needed to be done for retirees to live in dignity during retirement.

‘Pension schemes, when well designed and patronised are known to be the most popular, reliable, and best practices to address the most significant challenges in old age in many countries,’ he added.

Mr Mbr
oh noted that over the years, the NPRA had worked hard to drum home Ghana’s pension agenda through outreach and sensitisation activities such as media engagements, stakeholder engagements, advertising, pension clinics, and market activations across the country.

Despite the enormous efforts by the Authority through these activities to whip up the interest among the Ghanaian working populace, especially those in the informal sector, to register on pension schemes, there is still some more room for improvement by way of helping the Ghanaian informal sector worker to understand and participate in pension schemes.

The Senior Operations Manager of The Gambian Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation, Talibo Jassey, and the Head of the delegation, expressed delight about the three-tier pension scheme Ghana operates.

He said Ghana’s approach to the penetration into the informal economy with pension was commendable and called on the Authority to assist The Gambia to achieve same.

He indicated, the team had
heard commendable reviews of the NPRAs role as a regulatory body for both public and private pension schemes and expressed the hope that they would understand the strategies, mechanisms, and best practices that have contributed to the success of both public and private Pension Schemes in Ghana.

According to Jassey, they were also to explore the implementation challenges faced and the corresponding solutions and to learn about the impact assessment mechanisms employed to measure the effectiveness of the programmes.

He noted that based on existing levels of poverty and vulnerability in The Gambia and the gaps identified in current social protection efforts, the Government recognised that its social protection system requires modernisation and expansion to provide more reliable and effective protection from multifaceted shocks and to build peoples resilience to adversities and especially financial hardships.

The five-day visit to the Authority also saw the team engaging some Corporate Trustees and the regiona
l offices of the Authority on their operations.

Source: Ghana News Agency