Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Pension Regulation Authority (NPRA), David Tetteh-Amey Abbey, has indicated that early subscription to pension schemes would help curtail retirement poverty.
According to him, the general public, including young individuals 15 years and above, are eligible to contribute once they earn legal income, which would serve as a future guarantee for their retirement.
Mr. Tetteh Amey spoke at the youth-in-pension awareness seminar in Sunyani under the theme “reimagining pension, a better future for the youth”.
The seminar was organized to create awareness about pension sustainability among the youths and encouraged them to save and invest to secure their future.
About 8-second cycle institutions within the Sunyani Municipality participated in the campaign which was launched as an agenda to “catch them young”.
“The NPRA wants to catch them young. Most of them are at SHS level and if you educate them now and they complete, at say 18 years, and they go into the YouStart program, they would think about securing their future and that of their workers by contributing towards it”.
He also said the technologically inclined youths who assist their parents in many ways could explain to them why it’s important to contribute towards their retirement.
“I believe that the pension penetration would also go up when youths who are informed on pension educate their parents on their retirement plans”, he said.
He stressed that it would also ensure they don’t face poverty in their old age because “a pension is an insurance arrangement against old age poverty”.
Mr. William Ohene-Adjei, the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regional Manager of the NPRA, announced that his outfit would partner with the Ghana Education Service to create more awareness next year for the students.
“The Sunyani Zonal office has dedicated part of our budget next year to the youth of Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions, to organize pension scheme quizzes for all the second cycle schools,” Mr. Ohene-Adjei said.
“We also want to liaise with Ghana Education Service if they can give us a portion of their libraries where NPRA would adapt some shelves, which would contain pension and investment related documents,” he added.
Mr. Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, advised the youth, especially the students, to find solutions to the problems within their communities, thereby creating employment out of it.
He further urged the youth to take advantage of YouStart, a government vehicle that intends to provide funding and technical support to youth-led businesses to assist them to start, build and grow their businesses.
Azinim Mervyn, a business student of Sunyani Senior High School commended the organizers and indicated that the knowledge he has acquired on pension would help him to save for his future.
Another business student, Ama Achiaa Boachie of Notre Dame Girls Senior High School, also promised that she would sensitize all her close friends about the need to start saving at a tender age.
