AUCC to run courses on pension from September

Accra, June 29, GNA - The African University College of Communication (AUCC) Pensions Academy would from September this year run training courses on pensions for trustees of the provident fund, occupational pension schemes and other stakeholders of the National Pension Scheme.

The programme would empower trustees and other service providers with the requisite knowledge and training to enable them to perform their roles effectively and efficiently.

Mr Daniel Aidoo Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of Aidoo Mensah & Associates, announced this at a special Chief Executives Breakfast Meeting on pensions hosted by the Pensions Academy in Accra on Thursday. The meeting brought together chief executives and heads of organisations to discuss the implementation of the new three-tier pension scheme for Ghana and the roles employers are required to play. Mr Aidoo Mensah, who facilitated the meeting, said the new legislation on pensions made it mandatory for appointed trustees of pension schemes to acquire appropriate knowledge and understanding of the law relating to pensions and trusts and a certain level of basic investment knowledge to make sound investment decisions and accurately analyse investment returns.

Mr Aidoo Mensah said the purpose of introducing the Pensions Academy was to create a platform for the training of trustees and all others involved in the management of the three-tier pension scheme. He noted that a formal training course was essential to enable trustees to successfully perform their responsibilities and improve pension scheme governance.

Mr Aidoo Mansah said the Pensions Academy would in the near future partner with internationally recognised pensions training institutions to offer diploma courses in pensions. The AUCC Pensions Academy was officially launched on July 12 2011. It is hosted by the AUCC with technical support from Aidoo Mensah & Associates, a pensions and benefits consulting firm and Frontline Capital Advisors Limited, an investment advisory firm and pension fund management experts.

The Academy has a 13-member Governing Council made up of accomplished personalities, including academicians, business executives, and pensions and investment experts. The Council is chaired by Professor S.N. Woode, former Chairman of the Public Services Commission and former Director of the School of Administration, University of Ghana (now University of Ghana Business School).