Informal sector workers urged to embrace Tier-three Pension Scheme for better retirement

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has called on informal sector workers to subscribe to the new Tier-three Pension Scheme to ensure a more comfortable retirement.

During a forum organized by the Ministry, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), and other pension managers, the Minister emphasized the importance of contributing to the new scheme for financial relief during retirement.

The Tier-three Pension Scheme is a voluntary provident fund and personal scheme that offers tax incentives and targets workers in the informal sector, which comprises about 85 per cent of Ghana's workforce.

Mr Baffour Awuah encouraged couples to support and motivate each other to join the pension scheme while still actively working, enabling them to live comfortably in their old age.

The forum was attended by individuals from various sectors, including market women, drug store operators, hairdressers/dressmakers, auto mechanics, heads of driver unions, and chop bar operators in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region.

The Minister highlighted that the scheme provides an opportunity for informal sector workers who wish to make voluntary contributions to enhance their pension benefits.

He assured contributors that their funds would be managed by trustees licensed by the NPRA, working alongside registered fund managers.

Furthermore, the NPRA has been granted prosecutorial powers to hold private pension fund managers accountable for any mismanagement of funds or failure to renew their operational licenses.

Mr Baffour Awuah dismissed the notion that pension funds were included in the recent Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which aimed to secure a bailout of three billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund.

The voluntary personal pension scheme has provisions to cater to the specific needs of workers in the informal sector.

Nana Kweku Esieni V, the Regent of Agona Swedru and chairman of the function urged informal sector workers to embrace the Tier-three Pension Scheme to maximize the benefits of their contributions.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Employment, only two million out of the 12 million workers nationwide are currently contributing to the new scheme.