NPRA assures workers of timely benefits

Mr. Laud Senanu, Acting Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), has advised workers to have confidence in the three-tier pension scheme.

The CEO said plans were afoot to fine-tune payment of retirement benefits to make the payment more efficient.

He gave the advice in response to questions raised at a forum organized in Bolgatanga to educate workers on the three-tier pension scheme.

On data processing and application to the three-tier, the acting CEO said NPRA was collaborating with SSNIT for available data to enhance the process.

He, therefore, urged workers who had not updated their personal data to do so with SSNIT, while plans were made to establish regional offices.

Mr. Emmanuel Dagbanu, Education and Training Manager of NPRA, in a presentation on the scheme, outlined the objectives of NPRA as providing pension benefits to ensure income security for workers, and to ensure that every worker received retirement and related benefits on good time.

He indicated that the scheme was also to establish uniform rules, regulations and standards for the administration and payment of retirement benefits to workers in the public and private sector with related benefits.

He explained that the three-tier comprises basic national social scheme for the first-tier, an Occupational Pension for the second-tier which was both mandatory and voluntary provident fund for the third-tier.

He said the second and third tiers were private, and indicated that NPRA had already granted licenses to 218 schemes under these two schemes.

Other concerns raised at the forum were the absence of information to some government departments and agencies on the scheme, its implementation and inadequate information about trustees managing the schemes on behalf of workers.