Close to GH¢500 million in dormant financial assets is putting Ghana’s inheritance system under fresh scrutiny, as families struggle to access money that may have been accumulated by deceased relatives over years of work and saving.
The figure, highlighted by the Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), points to a problem that extends beyond inactive bank accounts. It raises difficult questions about what happens to household wealth when its owner dies and beneficiaries are unable to complete the legal and administrative steps required to claim it.
ILAPI has described the situation as a form of “inheritance poverty”, arguing that families can lose access to legitimate wealth because the process of recovering dormant assets is expensive, complicated and time-consuming.
The nearly GH¢500 million figure represents an approximate cedi equivalent of several currencies rather than a single domestic-currency balance. According to ILAPI, Bank of Ghana data show that between 2016 and 2024, more than GH¢167.8 million, US$14.6 million, £2.4 million and €2.3 million in dormant balances were transferred to the central bank.
The institute also points to the transfer of 1,448,660 dormant accounts between 2021 and July 2024, highlighting the sheer number of financial relationships that have entered the dormant-account system.
When Savings Become Difficult to Inherit
For many families, money sitting in a dormant account is not simply idle cash.
It could represent years of contributions by a worker, savings built by a trader, funds set aside for children or money accumulated by a parent hoping to provide security for the family.
When the account holder dies, however, the process of accessing those funds can become significantly more complicated.
Under Ghana’s banking rules, accounts that remain inactive for five years are transferred to the Bank of Ghana. The central bank provides a platform through which dormant account holders or their legal representatives can trace unclaimed funds.
The challenge becomes more pronounced when the account owner is deceased.
Being listed as a next of kin does not automatically give a person the right to withdraw money from a deceased customer’s account. Legal authority is generally required through probate where the deceased left a will or letters of administration where the person died intestate.
That distinction can come as a surprise to families who assume that being named as a next of kin is enough to gain access to the money.
The Cost of Claiming Family Wealth
The financial burden associated with recovering dormant assets is another concern.
ILAPI says nearly 70% of beneficiaries who attempted to recover dormant assets abandoned the process. One assessment cited by the institute estimates that claimants can spend around GH¢7,500 and wait more than 32 weeks to gain access to funds belonging to a deceased relative.
For a wealthy household, such costs may be manageable. For a low-income family, however, spending thousands of cedis simply to establish legal entitlement can be a major barrier.
The consequences can be painful.
A deceased breadwinner’s savings could have paid school fees, supported a small business, covered medical expenses or helped a family secure accommodation. When beneficiaries cannot access the money, those opportunities disappear while the funds remain locked within the financial system.
This creates a striking contradiction. Ghana has invested considerable effort in bringing people into the formal financial system, yet financial inclusion does not end when an individual opens an account.
It also involves ensuring that legitimately accumulated wealth can be transferred to those legally entitled to receive it.
ILAPI Pushes for New Rules
ILAPI is calling for reforms aimed at making beneficiary access more straightforward without compromising safeguards designed to prevent fraud and unauthorised withdrawals.
Among its proposals is a Next of Kin and Beneficiary Access Act that would harmonise procedures across banks, insurers, pension administrators and other financial institutions.
The institute has also proposed a National Beneficiary Claims Portal, standardised documentation requirements and mandatory notification of known beneficiaries when accounts become dormant or when financial institutions become aware that an account holder has died.
Such reforms would not remove the need for legal verification. Any system that releases inherited funds must still protect estates against impersonation, fraudulent claims and family disputes.
The issue is therefore not simply about making access easier. It is about making legitimate access more predictable.
Turning Dormant Wealth Back Into Productive Capital
There is also a wider economic argument behind the debate.
Money recovered by legitimate beneficiaries does not necessarily remain in savings. It can be used to pay tuition, establish businesses, purchase homes, meet medical expenses or finance other productive activities.
Inherited savings can also provide families with capital without forcing them to take on additional debt.
A more coordinated digital system could potentially help by connecting identity verification, account tracing and claims processing while maintaining strict privacy and security standards.
Ghana already has a Bank of Ghana unclaimed-balances portal. The question is whether the existing infrastructure can be expanded and better coordinated with the institutions and legal processes involved in inheritance.
A Test of Financial Inclusion
The dormant-funds debate ultimately exposes a less visible side of Ghana’s financial inclusion journey.
Getting people to save, invest and use formal financial institutions is only part of the task. The system must also ensure that accumulated wealth does not become unnecessarily disconnected from families after the death of an account holder.
The nearly GH¢500 million in dormant funds therefore carries significance beyond the banking sector.
Behind the numbers are accounts, families and years of financial sacrifice.
Currently, the challenge for Ghana is to create an inheritance system that protects property rights and prevents fraud while ensuring that legitimate beneficiaries are not forced to abandon family wealth because the process of claiming it is simply too difficult.
