NPRA set to establish Pensions College to address knowledge gap in industry

The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) is set to establish a Pensions College to address the knowledge gap in the pensions sector.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPRA, Hayford Attah-Krufi who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra last Tuesday, said the College was to build the capacity of industry players on pension issues.

The news conference was to outline measures being introduced by the Authority to move the pension sector forward.

Mr Attah-Krufi said after 10 years of the establishment of the Authority, it had resolved most of the transitional issues and should now consider sustainable ways of delivering on the mandate of ensuring that private pension providers possessed the requisite knowledge at all times to minimise risks associated with the private pension schemes.

“The establishment of the Pensions College has become necessary primarily because during the initial stages of the pension reform, the Authority was burdened with transitional issues and has to resort to partnership with already established training institutions, including the African University College of Communication and National Insurance College to deliver on the mandate of training in the industry,” he said.

He said the objectives of the College were to provide basic and professional training in pensions and offer continuous professional development to service providers and other industry players, train other professional and graduates who wish to join the pensions industry.

The College, the CEO said, was to deepen financial literacy, especially in pension products.

He said the training was set to commence on April 1 and the course shall be rolled out in sessions, adding that each session would be a three-day intensive session which shall comprise a maximum of 25 participants.

“Course will be facilitated by NPRA personnel, other industry experts may be engaged if necessary. Special collaborations with similar institutions, namely Ghana Insurance College, Ghana Investment and Securities Institute, and the National Banking College, have been secured for some modules,” Mr Attah-Krufi said.

The CEO said the College would help Trustees acquire in-depth knowledge and understanding in pension’s management and trusteeship, which would ensure compliance.

Some of the courses to be undertaken are Concepts of Pensions, Investment of Pension Funds, Basics of Finance, Leisure and Health Planning, Retirement Planning and Global Pensions Issues.