Okere MP Hon. Daniel Nana Addo-Kenneth has backed calls for urgent pension reforms, linking Ghana’s low wages directly to inadequate retirement savings.
Commenting on a parliamentary statement about ageing, Hon. Addo-Kenneth argued that poor remuneration prevents workers from preparing for the future.
Because pension contributions are tied to basic salaries, low pay inevitably results in small retirement payouts.
“Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Minority Leader made an important point on wages,” he said. “It is true that you cannot expect a Ghanaian worker who is not well paid to save enough for retirement.”
To bring the 70 to 80 percent of workers in the informal sector into the system, he urged the government to introduce tax breaks and incentives for voluntary contributions.
He also called for a national dialogue on wage policy and social protection to prevent rising poverty among the elderly.
“The Deputy Minority Leader is right. This is a national issue. We must act now before the demographic shift peaks,” Hon. Addo-Kenneth stated.
The debate follows warnings from Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, who stated that Ghana’s rapidly ageing population will severely strain pension and healthcare systems.
Official projections show that Ghanaians aged 60 and above will grow from 2.05 million in 2020 to 6.3 million by 2050.
Furthermore, life expectancy has risen from 47 years in 1960 to an estimated 68.98 years by 2026.
Hon. Appiagyei noted that while the overall dependency ratio has fallen since 1970, the proportion of elderly dependents is climbing. Delayed or insufficient payouts frequently force seniors to remain employed.
“Many elderly citizens still say ‘I am seventy and still working like myself. My pension does not come regularly,’” she noted.
While longer lifespans reflect improved health conditions, Hon. Appiagyei emphasized that retirees will require long-term support.
“Parliament must treat ageing and retirement as a matter of national agency,” Hon. Appiagyei stated.
She commended the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for maintaining its 60-year record of uninterrupted payments and reducing claims processing times to under ten working days.
She added that while SSNIT’s digital platforms and self-employed enrollment initiatives are laudable, coverage must expand significantly to protect informal sector workers.
“These initiatives are laudable, but there is a need to scale up coverage to match the eighty percent of workers in the informal economy,” she stated.
Hon. Appiagyei urged the government to accelerate formal sector enrollment and expand social protection and healthcare for the elderly, particularly in rural areas where traditional family support systems are weakest.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana