Only 12.5% of workers in Ghana contribute to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust

She explained that the figure of the private pensions was higher than that of SSNIT because some people in the informal sector who contribute to private pensions on their own.

“For SSNIT, we have 67, 000 employers that contribute to SSNIT but we have just 31, 000 employers that contribute to private pensions for their workers. If your employer is paying SSNIT for you but not paying your tier two, what it means is that there will be no lump sum for you when you retire. SSNIT is no longer paying the lump sum so if your employer is not paying tier two for you, it means you will get the monthly payment from SSNIT but no lump sum when you go on retirement.”

She added that the lump sum was a very important part of one’s retirement benefit.

On how much Ghanaian pensioners are receiving monthly she said “last year, we had 78% of retired people taking home GH¢1000 or less. We had 50% of pensioners earning GH¢600 or less and about 25% earning GH¢400 or less.”

She added that on 1% of Ghanaian pensioners receive GHc5000 or more.

Answering a question on which gender seems more prepared for retirement, Ms Anane-Appiah, said: “with the information I have, it is the men who look more prepared for retirement.”

“A lot more men work in the private sector or formal sector so they tend to rely on what their employers do for them but a lot of women are in the informal sector and generally in that sector, they don’t really plan for their retirement. So I will go with the men not because they are deliberately making any effort but because they tend to be the ones who work more in the formal sector,” she explained.

However, the president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana, Mrs Patricia Sappor, had a different opinion. She believed women tend to be more prepared than men.

“Women are more financially prepared for retirement than men because women are more conscious of the future, they want to be very comfortable so they prepare for it,” she said.

Mrs Sappor said one should start preparing for pension “as soon as you start working you should start thinking about retirement because it is inevitable.”

“Once you start earning income, you should start planning for your retirement because whatever income you receive, your future is part of that income so you start thinking about how well you can spread that income and invest some in your future because you will not be able to work throughout your life. You cannot run away from the facts of life. You just have to ask yourself that will you be in a position to work throughout your life and look at how you can position yourself to face the challenges of the future,” she noted.