December 2022
19Dec

Ghana. Debt Exchange Programme Extended to December Ending

The expiration date of the Debt Exchange Programme (DEP) has been extended to the end of December this year, the Ministry of Finance, has announced. It said in view of the of the festive season, the government had decided to extend the Expiration Date of the voluntary offer to Friday December 30, 2022, with a contemplated settlement date on Friday January 6th, 2023. The voluntary programme should have expired today December 19, 2022. A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance in...

December 19, 2022
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13Dec

Ghana. Exempt pension funds from Debt Exchange Programme – TUC insists

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), has reiterated its intention to advice itself if government fails to announce within a week the exemption of pension funds from the Debt Exchange programme. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, December 12, 2022, Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary General, Trade Union Congress, said government should publicly announce that all pension funds, including Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), were exempted from the Debt Exchange Programme. He said the programme will negatively affect pension funds...

December 13, 2022
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06Dec

Ghana. Pensions will be protected against Debt Exchange – TUC assures workers

The Trades Union Congress(TUC) has assured that it will take steps to safeguard workers’ pensions amid the implementation of government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDX) Programme. In a statement issued on Monday, the TUC expressed disquiet about the failure of government to engage Labour ahead of the launch given that substantial portion of workers’ pension is invested in government bonds. Read also Shelter Afrique target East African bourses, pension funds in USD 500mn housing bond Nonetheless, the TUC appealed to all workers...

December 6, 2022
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05Dec

Health Services Workers’ Union battles government over ‘haircut’ on pensions

The Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) has vowed to resist any attempt by the government to touch the Pensions of its members. The General Secretary of the HSWU, Franklin Owusu Ansah, at a press conference held on Sunday said “If the government finds it so important to do the debt restructuring, we will urge them to ring-fence the Pension Funds of workers. Workers of Ghana can’t continue suffering to the grave. Enough is enough!!” This comes on the back of a...

December 5, 2022
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November 2022
01Nov

No haircuts for pension funds or anybody, says Ghana’s president

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo ruled out losses for bond investors as a result of negotiations with the IMF for a $3bn bailout. Talks with the IMF are “going well”, Akufo-Addo said in a speech broadcast on Sunday in the capital, Accra. The president criticised speculation in the West African nation predicting a so-called haircut for investors, which he said has triggered renewed selling of the cedi. “No individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in government Treasury bills or instruments will...

November 1, 2022
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October 2022
28Oct

Ghana. NPRA calls for more collaborations with stakeholders to increase coverage and growth

The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) is urging stakeholders in the industry to enhance collaboration that would inure to the benefit of Ghanaian workers during retirement. Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions manager of the Authority, William Ohene Adjei, said it is only through effective collaboration that there would be a widening coverage and subsequently rope in more informal workers. He said as part of the Authority’s 5-year strategic plan, they intend to work towards increasing pension coverage and pension income. “It...

October 28, 2022
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21Oct

Ghana. Public Sector Workers warn government not to touch pension funds in debt restructuring

The Forum for Public Sector Associations and Unions has asked the government not to apply a “haircut” to Tier 2 Pension Funds as part of a “probable” debt restructuring programme. The Forum said it had taken note of media reports suggesting that about 94 per cent of Tier 2 Pension contributions placed in government securities might be affected by the said debt restructuring agenda. At a press conference in Accra today, Thursday, October 20, 2022, Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, Chairman of...

October 21, 2022
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14Oct

Ghana. SSNIT to begin mass enrollment of informal sector onto pension scheme by January 2023

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has announced the commencement of a mass enrollment of the informal sector onto its pension scheme by January 2023. This announcement was made at the SSNIT Employers’ Breakfast meeting in Accra. According to the Director General, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, extensive consultations with stakeholders in the informal sector and the need to ensure that systems which will enhance the enrollment of the sector onto the scheme are fully operational, are the reasons why the...

October 14, 2022
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07Oct

UK Pension Fund Near-Collapse Is A Warning For America’s Pensions

Autor: Edward Siedle Around the world, there are millions of workers and retirees who are counting upon pensions set up by corporations and governments to provide for their retirement security. These individuals believe they have been “promised” certain benefits and that promises made will be kept. Unfortunately, many pensions are severely underfunded, i.e., not enough money has been set-aside to pay benefits promised. Further, the money in these pensions is all-too-often grossly mismanaged—what I refer to as “gross malpractice generally practiced.” That’s...

October 7, 2022
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06Oct

Ghana. Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme set to take off this month

The much-awaited rollout of the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme is set to commence this month, the Board Chairman of COCOBOD, Mr Peter Mac Manu has announced. According to him, the trustees and implementers of the scheme would be rolling out from district to district to register cocoa farmers onto the scheme to enjoy the pension scheme’s benefit. Mr Mac Menu was speaking at this year’s cocoa day grand durbar which also coincided with the COCOBOD 75th anniversary on the theme “COCOBOD...

October 6, 2022
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