Workers demand Tier 2 pensions fund

It has emerged that the mandatory five per cent Tier Two monthly deductions of public service workers has not been lodged with the relevant trustee over the last 10 months.

The employers are in both the private or public sectors.

 Per the National Pensions Act, employers are required to remit five per cent out of the 18.5 per cent mandatory pension contribution to a private Corporate Trustee on behalf of employees. Contributions are based on monthly pay and are deducted from gross pay before tax.

The affected workers have said the delay on the part of the government to transfer the deductions is hampering the smooth operation of the second Tier Occupational Pension Schemes in the public sector which has put the pensions of workers in danger.

The workers are, therefore, calling on the government to comply with the statutory obligation by paying the money into the accounts of the respective fund managers to be invested for and on behalf of workers.

President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, who disclosed this in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the Health Sector Occupational Pensions Scheme (HSOPS) mobile application at Senshi last Wednesday, described the situation as really difficult.

“So far as the money has not been paid, the fund managers cannot also invest it for the benefit of the contributor; hence, it is a really difficult situation that puts the contributor at a disadvantage,” she said.

Complaints

Mrs Ofori-Ampofo, who is also the Member Secretary of the HSOPS, said despite numerous complaints filed at the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA), the regulator of pensions, about the delay in the payment of the deductions, the  principal and the three per cent surcharge, as stipulated by the law, had not been paid.

Mrs Ofori-Ampofo refuted assertions that leaders of workers were laid back in their demands on the employer to do the right thing, stressing that as leaders, they had not reneged on their fiduciary responsibility to see to it that the money, having been deducted from workers salaries, was paid to the respective fund managers for investment purposes so that the contributor could benefit at the end of the day.

She said having filed several complaints with the NPRA, they expressed the hope that the regulator would act to ensure that the right things were done but, unfortunately, that had not been the case, stressing that the continuous delay in the transfer of the funds to the various schemes for the past 10 months was adversely going to affect  the level of lump sum or gratuity a retired officer was likely to receive in the second Tier .

The Member Secretary of HSOPS thus called on the employer to remedy the situation as early as practicable so the right investment could be made on behalf of the contributors.

Options

On what options were available to workers to force the government to fulfil its mandate, Mrs Ofori-Ampofo said the options available to workers at the moment was for them to continue to engage the employer and the regulator to ensure the arrears were paid.

The other option, she said, would be for the contributors to rise up and demand their money. “We don't want to get there because it brings about labour unrest and chaos and all those things but to what extent can we hold back?” She queried.

Writer’s email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh