The General Manager of Axis Pension Trust, Mr Paa Kofi Ankomah, has said that the company is well positioned to pay all the retirement benefits of its customers who will retire within this year and next year.

He said at the beginning of the year, the company was expected to pay retirement benefits to 1,854 customers of 106 employers from.

He said the employees were from 28 different schemes and as at July 2020, it had paid GH¢21.9 million to 764 retirees from 78 employers.

He said the highest amount the company paid to an individual was GH¢600,000 and was confident of paying the rest of the retirees as and when their benefits were due.

Mr Ankomah was speaking at the 2020 Axis Pension Pre-Retirement Seminar which was held on the theme: ‘Empowering the Axis retiree to retire in style’.

“At the beginning of the year, we were expected to pay retirement benefits for 1,854 members of 106 employers from 29 different schemes and as at July 2020, we have successfully paid out GH¢21.9 million for 764 retirees from 26 schemes made up of 78 employers.

“We are privileged to have served these retirees and are optimistic they are already enjoying the first few months of their retirement. In 2021, we expect to pay out retirement benefits of additional 1,200 members and we want to assure them as they approach retirement that we are confident of your retirement prospects and we will speedily ensure your benefits are processed and paid on time,” he stated.

He said that was very fundamental to the objective of the National Pensions Act which stated that “we should ensure that every worker receives retirement benefits as and when its due.”

Pre-retirement seminar

The 2020 Axis Pension Pre-Retirement Seminar was organised to enable members who were nearing retirement to prepare adequately.

The event, which was held virtually, assembled experts in their fields to lead sessions on health, what to expect at retirement, accessing your benefits from the various schemes and how to make your retirement income last you longer.

Mr Ankomah said the event had come to stay on its calendar as a business and it was in line with its mission to empower the Ghanaian worker to retire with dignity.

“It is our aim to empower you to become the axis retiree, distinguished in every aspect from any other retiree out there,” he said.

Calculating retirement benefits

The Head of Corporate Client Relations, Mr Emmanuel Ntreh, also took the participants of the seminar through how to calculate their retirement benefits and the necessary steps retirees needed to take in order to access their retirement benefits when it was due.

“It is very important to engage the designated institutions mandated to pay your retirement benefits to ensure that records are up-to-date in order to avoid any challenges,” he stated.

A financial planner at Axis Pension Trust, Mimi Anane-Appiah, also introduced participants to the Axis Retirement Annuity Plan as a viable option to manage retirement income to last throughout the years of retirement.

She said the Axis Retirement Annuity Plan was a financial product that grew an individual’s lump sum amount and provided a monthly cash flow.

She emphasised the need for such a solution to manage shortfalls in retirement income.