Many Employees Not With Second Tier Pension Scheme

Mr Laud A. K. Senanu, acting Chief Executive Officer, of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has said the majority of employers have not registered their employees on the Second Tier Pension Scheme. The Acting Chief Executive Officer, who said this at Bolgatanga during an outreach programme by the Authority on the New Three-Tier Pension Scheme, said out of the 4,000 workers enrolled on the First Tier Pension Scheme, only about 1,000 were registered for the Second Tier. Mr Senanu said in spite of the Authority�s persistent reminders to employers to fulfil this mandatory obligation, the result was disheartening. He, therefore, urged employees to press home this demand and insist on early payments to the scheme and other relevant bodies. He gave the assurance that the Authority would address the few challenges confronting the Scheme and said plans were on course to engage reputable Corporate Trustees to manage pension funds with the assistance of Fund Managers. The Education and Training Manager of the NPRA, Mr Emmanuel Awuku Dagbanu, who spoke on the three-tier Pension Scheme, told workers that both the first and second tier contributions were mandatory. He said whilst the first tier was managed by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the second tier was privately managed by reputable trustees, and designed primarily to give contributors lump sums after retirement. �The lump sum benefits are dependent on the level of contributions, the investment returns, and administrative expenses incurred in the management of the scheme. The current contribution is five per cent of gross salary,� Mr Dagbanu said. The Director of Cooperate Affairs of the NPRA, Mrs Rita Afua Adzovie, gave the assurance that what had been paid so far under the Second Tier was in safe custody and entreated the workers not to panic. The occasion attracted a number of workers from the formal and informal sectors who asked varied questions about the management of the schemes.