National Pensions and Regulatory Authority (NPRA)
• The highest pensioner in Ghana currently receives GH¢129,000 per month
• The NPRA revealed this at a stakeholder engagement in Accra
• Already pensioners in the country have been grappling with meager sums
The National Pensions Regulatory Authority has revealed that the highest pensioner on the SSNIT payroll in Ghana currently receives GH¢129,000 per month.
Though details of the said persons monthly contributions are not known, Director of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Authority, Ernest Amartey-Vondee has urged workers to take advantage of the three-tier pension scheme to enhance their pension income.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement, Amartey-Vondee said, “the highest pensioner is currently receiving over GH¢129,000 per month. You can reach that level if you contribute appropriately to the right kind of schemes,” he stated.
Already pensioners in the country have been grappling with meager sums as the NPRA has revealed some startling figures.
The Authority said that more than 53% of the 233,670 pensioners currently on the payroll of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) receive less than GH¢1,000 per month.
Out of this number, 1,669 pensioners received less than GH¢300 per month while 26,571 pensions were receiving between GH¢301 and GH¢499 per month.
This means that in all, 152,895 pensioners earned less than GH¢1,000 which represents 53 percent of the total figure.
On the hand, Amartey-Vondee noted that the low pension figures resulted in the diversification of the pension base which culminated in the implementation of the three-tier pension scheme in 2010.
“The main reason for the reforms was to diversify the pensioner’s income base,” he told journalists in Accra.