William Asiedu Yeboah, CEO of NBC Ghana Trust
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBC Ghana Trust, William Asiedu Yeboah, has charged Ghanaian employees to invest in Ghana’s Tier 3 pension scheme to secure their future.
“The surest way to a happy old age is to save towards retirement, so workers, both in the formal and informal sectors, must invest in the Tier-3 pension scheme, Mr Yeboah added.
In an interview recently in Accra, the CEO stated that the introduction of the two new pension tiers – Tiers 2 and 3 – has paved the way for employers and employees to contribute more for a better future.
Per the Pension Act 2008 (Act 766), Ghana operates a three-tier pension scheme.
Tier-1 is made up of a mandatory monthly contribution of 13.5 percent of basic salary managed by SSNIT.
Tier-2 is a mandatory contribution of 5 percent basic salary managed by a licensed Fund Manager.
Tier-3 is an optional contribution also managed by licensed Fund Managers.
In addition, the Tier-3 is voluntary, and it is up to the employee or employer to determine how much of the employee’s salary will be contributed to this tier.
The CEO further noted that one of the benefits of investing in the Tier-3 pension scheme is that the tax benefits can increase contributors’ retirement benefits, adding that “government will give tax relief on your pension at retirement. Also, you can take your pension savings as a tax-free lump sum upon retirement.”
Mr. Yeboah also noted that most pensioners go home with relatively huge lump sums as retirement packages, but their monthly packages cannot sustain them over a long period, forcing them to fall on relatives for help.
He, therefore, called on workers to make conscious efforts to start a Provident Fund under the Tier-3 pension scheme, stressing that “it’s important to do this with a registered pension scheme administrator to avoid disappointment as being witnessed by people who lost their jobs recently.
Furthermore, he said investing with the right pension scheme administrator would help save employees from trauma and make it easy for them to receive their bulk sum whenever they decide to do so.
He said NBC Ghana Trust has built a robust system that could help clients know their investment anytime.
NBC Ghana Limited is part of the NBC Group, a leading player in the African Employee Benefits and Retirement industry.
By Samuel Boadi