September 2018

Pensions and living with your kids

By Markus Goldstein When a government implements a policy, there is often a question about how it will interact and/or displace existing informal practices. For example, awhile back there was a lot of discussion around how government provided insurance would displace (or not) informal risk sharing arrangements that may have been doing a good job of protecting some people from risk. But it’s hard to address this kind of question deeply in a randomized control trial. A lot of the informal...

February 2018

Ghana. Private pension funds hit GH¢9.7bn; expert wants funds used for prudent investments

Private pension funds have maintained their strong growth over the years, reaching a record high of GH¢9.7billion in 2017, from the previous year’s GH¢6.8billion. Data from the sector regulator, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), show that 9.2 billion of the 9.7 billion was accrued from Assets Under Management (AUM) managed by licenced trustees, while some GH¢0.5billion came from the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA). Last year’s figure, which is over 4.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), represents...

Improving the Targeting of Social Programs in Ghana

By Quentin Wodon This study provides a diagnostic of the benefit incidence and targeting performance of a large number of social programs in Ghana. Both broad-based programs (such as spending for education and health, and subsidies for food, oil-related products and electricity) as well as targetd programs (such as LEAP, the indigent exemption under the NHIS, school lunches and uniforms, or fertilizer subsidies) are considered. In addition, the study provides tools and recommendations for better targeting of those programs in...

August 2017

Ghana. SSNIT’s investment strategies must change now – Bright Simons

Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, is advising Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to urgently change its investment strategies it is to see a turnaround from its current bleak standing. Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Simons noted that about half of the money SSNIT has invested is generating negative returns. “When you look at how much SSNIT invests and the mechanisms through which it invests, you have to start becoming very worried. No wonder SSNIT itself says that...

July 2017

Ghana. Government should address Tier Two Pension issues – Forum

The forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Schemes has given the Government up to the end of July to resolve outstanding issues regarding the Tier Two Pension Scheme. Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, the Chairman of the forum, at a news conference in Accra, said since 2010 when the scheme commenced, goverment had about 80 months' arrears of their five per cent monthly deductions to be paid to their respective custodian fund managers. The forum the Government should transfer all contributions deducted...

April 2017

NPRA baits informal workers

The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has slashed the registration fee for corporate trustees wishing to operate in the informal sector from GH¢5,000 to GH¢1,000, as part of measures aimed at enticing more trustees to rope non-formal workers into the pension scheme. The authority has also reduced the individual trustee informal sector licensing fee from GH¢5,000 to GH¢500. The measures, which took immediate effect, are expected to help encourage high participation of corporate trustees in the informal sector. The reduction in the...

March 2017

Ghana. Informal sector players to enroll on pension schemes

Some financial institutions have begun moves aimed at getting more workers in the informal sector to enroll on pension schemes. According to some reports, about 70 percent of Ghana’s working force that fall under the informal sector do not have any pension scheme. In an interview with Citi Business News, the Chief Executive Officer of Old Mutual Ghana, George Kojo Addison said talks have begun with associations in the informal sector to increase their interest in pensions as well as get...