The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) says it has intensified enforcement of pension laws, prosecuting over 100 employers for failing to remit workers’ contributions and recovering more than GH¢27 million.
At a press briefing in Accra, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Victor Azumah said total pension funds in Ghana have exceeded GH¢100 billion.
Despite this growth, he raised concerns about low participation from the informal sector, noting that contributions remain limited at about GH¢1.2 billion.
He attributed this partly to a lack of trust following past financial sector challenges.
“A number of factors account for the lack of interest by the informal sector. One is trust. We all saw what happened within the economy, particularly with microfinance institutions and how businesses collapsed, so there is a lack of trust in the system,” he said.
Mr Azumah also pointed to the irregular nature of informal work as a barrier to consistent contributions.
“The issue is also efficiency in engaging these informal workers. They do not earn regular income, and that has affected contributions from the sector.”
The NPRA further expressed concern about some private employers who deduct pension contributions from workers’ salaries but fail to remit them.
“Reports from trustees of registered schemes indicate that some employers have refused to pay contributions of their staff despite having deducted these amounts from their earnings.
“Some have not even registered schemes for their staff for the payment of mandatory Tier Two deductions. These violations of workers’ rights must not be condoned,” Azumah stated.
The Authority has therefore cautioned all employers to register Tier Two schemes and pay mandatory contributions as a matter of urgency, warning that non-compliant employers risk prosecution.
