Negotiated Benefits Trust Company Limited (NBC Ghana Trust), one of the leading private pensions companies in the country, has launched a pension product for both formal and informal sector workers.
Talking about the product, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBC Ghana Trust, William Asiedu Yeboah, stated that the ‘NBC Gold Plan’ has become necessary in view of the low pension penetration in the country, particularly for informal sector workers.
According to the CEO, the product dubbed ‘NBC Gold Plan,’ is meant to help enroll formal and informal sector workers on pensions for them to enjoy retirement income security.
The forum was attended by the officials from National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Ghana Statistical Service, and players in the private pensions industry. It was on the theme “Reliable Retirement Planning.”
Mr. William Asiedu Yeboah stated that statistics indicated that pension coverage by SSNIT is about two million out of a working population of 14 million.
Mr. Asiedu said it is, therefore, imperative that mechanisms are put in place for those in the informal sector to be covered with pensions.
“We have been on this pension journey with the private sector for the past 10 years and one of our objectives is to ensure that we widen the coverage for pensions. That means that apart from those in the formal sector, we should have arrangements in place for those who are self-employed and those in the informal sector.”
William Asiedu Yeboah
Mr. Asiedu noted that more than 80 percent of the working adults are in the informal sector. This, he said is of major interest to the NBC Ghana Trust. He added that the ‘NBC Gold Plan,’ licensed by the NPRA, is designed to help informal and formal sector workers to sign on a pension product to enjoy retirement income security.
Informal Sector Workers to Join SSNIT with GH¢50.00
The CEO averred that with a minimum of GH¢50.00, informal sector workers could join the scheme, noting that formal sector workers could join to complement their SSNIT pension.
“By making regular contributions into an interest-bearing fund, you build your retirement fund while taking advantage of the tax-deductible benefits on your contributions and your investment income.
“The numbers in the informal sector are staggering and we can open our doors to as many as possible and if we can get at least 50,000 people joining we would have achieved an impact in the informal sector. Our ambition is to enroll at least 100,000 workers in the next three years.”
William Asiedu Yeboah
Mr. Asiedu disclosed that currently, the NBC Ghana Trust has more than 40,000 active members.
The Director of Planning, Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, Ernest Amartey-Vondee, urged the workers to save for their retirement income security. This, he said, is crucial to help retirees to lead independent lives and not become a liability to their families.
Mr. Amartey-Vondee urged workers to ensure that the pension companies that they bought pension products and services from are licensed by the NPRA.
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