The National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA), under the auspices of the Ministries of Employment and Labour Relations and Ministry of Finance, is organising the first-ever National Pensions Awareness Week.

This will be the country's maiden Pension Awareness Week celebration and will be a week-long programme from Monday 25th to Friday 29th October 2021, under the theme, "Total Participation in Pensions to ensure Retirement Income Security".

The event will provide the platform to engage stakeholders on the development of pensions to invigorate a nationwide awareness on pensions.

According to an official statement issued and copied the GNA in Accra, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignagious Bafour Awuah, will launch the weeklong activities at Koforidua on Thursday, October 20 at the Koforidua Jubilee Park.

The NPRA, under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), has been implementing the contributory Three-Tier Pension Scheme since January 2010.

The Authority is the sole regulator of the pension industry in the Republic of Ghana. This is done through effective policy direction to secure retirement income for the retired and the aged in Ghana.

As part of its mandate, the Authority has been actively engaged in education and sensitization on all pension-related matters in the country for the past ten years. The data available indicate that the pension coverage in the country is still low.

The statement said despite the enormous efforts by the Authority to whip up the interest among the Ghanaian working populace, especially those in the informal sector, to register on pension schemes, the Authority believes there was more to be done to raise the awareness on pensions in the country.

"It is estimated that about eighty-five percent (85%) of the working population in the country is found in the informal sector. The need for these workers to be on pension schemes has been a primary concern to the Authority.

"This needs to be done to reduce poverty and other old age and retirement challenges ahead of the Ghanaian worker within the coming years.

"The situation appears worrying primarily due to Ghana's aging review. More and more older people find themselves in a difficult financial situation when they reach retirement age because of a lack of sufficient savings and as housing costs and medical expenses rise," said.

It said many people in the informal sector reaching retirement age did not have any of the pension schemes that some workers in the formal sector have and often have not put enough money into savings.

The Authority has therefore embarked on a strategy to engage workers in the informal sector to whip their interest and also encourage them to understand and appreciate the urgent need to register for a pension scheme to ensure retirement income security for all Ghanaians, it added.

Activities line up for celebration include sensitization of Cocoa farmers at Sunyanu; Informal Sector Forum at Kumasi, Prempeh Assembly Hall; Public Lecture at the University of Winneba; Visit to Traditional and Religious Leaders in Accra and Zonal Offices, and Market Activation at Ho in the Volta region; Commissioning of Team NPRA Office, and media activities across the country.