The Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, says stakeholders should tread rather cautiously in the review of increasing retirement age from the current age of sixty.
The review, which is part of measures to mitigate the declining contribution of SSNIT pension scheme, he reckons will equally impact employment.
“I appreciate it and I would want to encourage such more discourse on pensions. We are not perfect, we learn on daily basis so you do one thing, people review it and you… reevaluate and re-strategize, and you see how well you deal with it. And I’m happy that for the first time, we’ve taken a bold step to be able to implement Act 766, which is the new pension regime, which is a deviation from the traditional pension we know, which was mainly managed by SSNIT, where you take both your lump sum and your monthly pension allowances from one institution.
“This time, we have opened what we call Occupational Pension Scheme where businesses indicate whom they want to manage their second tier and third tier pensions, and therefore, even as you go on retirement, you do not have to rely on SSNIT for them to give you the bulk payment but then you go to your occupational pension institution that has managed your funds, because you yourself managed it and you ask them to supervise it for you.
“So, if you invest well, you earn well. If you don’t invest well, you don’t earn well. So, for me, it is the best”.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive of Ghana Employer’s Association, Alex Frimpong says, the current challenges facing the SSNIT pension Scheme justifies this review.
“I think that, that discussion is long overdue, because all over the world, there has been a significant discussion concerning the retiring age. So, Ghana pegged their retiring age at 60 based upon certain assumptions regarding life expectancy.
“Times have changed. Life expectancy has improved, the health system has improved, and development has also change the environment for doing business. So, there will be the need for us to review the retirement age. You see the discussion becomes more emotional especially in the situation where you realize that many graduates are not getting employment and they think that once you get to sixty, you should give room to the other; it doesn’t work like that”.
He opines further that, issues pertaining to the national economy once rectified will augur well for the blooming of the pension scheme.
“The fundamental problem has to do with the improvement of national economy. Once the economy expands and grow, young, old and every body will get a role to play. So, for me, what is most important is that, it is not about the age, because if you look at the statistics of those who are leaving and those who are entering, I think, they don’t match.
“The fundamental issue has to do with the expansion of the economy and the prospect of employment opportunities”.
