GN RE sets up research fund for pension & insurance

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) OF GN Re, Mr Joseph Kusi-Tieku, has announced his outfit’s readiness to support the academia to conduct deeper research into the pension and insurance sector to enable the industry players come up with products that will best serve the needs of customers.

According to him, his company, in partnership with University of Ghana (UG), has set-up a research fund dubbed: “UG-GN RE Pension and Insurance Research Fund,” which he said, will be officially lunched on September 5, 2018.

Speaking on the sidelines of a brunch meeting, which brought together industry practitioners, regulators, academia, students and all relevant stakeholders in pension, insurance, reinsurance and actuarial science in Accra last week Thursday, Mr Kusi-Tieku said the purpose for setting up the fund was to discuss innovative ways to grow the sector.

He disclosed that the UG-GN RE Pension and Insurance Research Fund would be under the Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID).

The CEO of GN Re said that the world was fast changing from its old way of doing things due to the advancement of technological, socio-cultural and ever increasing need of mankind.

“Today, insurance companies are shifting and spreading their tentacles to cover other areas where hitherto was not considered,” he said.

“This is why it has become even more imperative to dig deeper through research into the pensions, insurance, and reinsurance to come up with fresh and innovative ideals to help tailor products that meet customer satisfaction,” Mr Kusi-Tieku stressed.

Meanwhile economist and head of the finance department at the University of Ghana Business School, Professor Godfred Bokpin has warned of future hardships for Ghanaians if the country fails to implement alternative retirement plans.

This, he believes, is because the current law only provides a minimum allowance for persons who retire under the law.

His comments come on the back of a recent altercation between some pensioners and the Ministry of Finance over delays in the release of their pensions for the month of April.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on the future of pensions in Ghana, Professor Bokpin called for an increase in education on retirement planning by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority and other industry stakeholders.

“All stakeholders within the pension industry must get involved in the education of the general public on retirement planning. People must understand that anybody who retires on the strength of the law will struggle. That is the basic principle. So if you work only to retire on the strength of the law, you should remember that the law only serves the minimum all over the world.”