New Year School ends

The country’s accumulated pension funds can be used to facilitate domestic financing for developmental projects under the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Hayford Atta Krufi has said.

He said current guidelines for investment of pension funds permitted the use of the funds  for socio-economic development, just like the financial support and projects that the country had benefitted from funds  from the  Social Security and National insurance Trust (SSNIT).

At the just-ended New Year School and Conference (NYSC) at the University of Ghana in Accra, he disclosed that total pensions assets for  both  social security funds and private pension funds had grown from GH₵5.1 billion in 2012 to GH₵23.5billion as of the end of September last year.

“Pension funds have been a catalyst for development all the world over. The development history of Ghana has equally received significant contributions from pension funds,” he said.



Mr Krufi was delivering a lecture on the topic: “Effective Pensions towards Ghana Beyond Aid” at the three-day event organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education under the theme, “Ghana Beyond Aid: Prospects and Challenges.”

According to Mr Krufi, through the issuance of infrastructure bonds to be subscribed by pension funds, the funds could be used for development projects in sectors, including roads and highways, energy, water, agriculture and real estate.

“As observed elsewhere, which can also be replicated here in Ghana, is the extensive use of pension funds to deepen and quicken the pace of development,” he said.

For the successful use of pension funds to promote development, Mr Krufi said certain relevant conditions were required, including stable macroeconomic conditions conducive for long term investment.

He said policy makers should maintain credible monetary policy framework, create transparent business regulation and supervision procedures to ensure accountability.

As the implementation of the 2010 pension reforms, including the three-tier system clocks a decade this year, he said the Authority would continue to sensitise people to enroll and enjoy the benefits of the schemes.

“The three-tier pension system would enhance pension benefits and increase retirement income security for workers both in the formal and informal sectors of the economy and improve on Ghana’s economic future,” he said.

As of the end of December last year, the CEO said the country had 241 private pension schemes, while the private service providers included 30 corporate trustees , 49 fund managers , 14 fund custodians and 1,112 individual  trustees.

Source:www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh