<<Print>>

An Economist and lecturer, Professor Stephen Adei, has said a well functioning pensions system is a crucial requirement in the country to correct the misery pensioners found themselves in. He said the appalling pension system we operated for a long time and the thought of retirement sometimes compelled public sector workers to be corrupt. Launching the Metropolitan Pensions Trust Ghana in Accra last Tuesday, Prof. Adei said a good pension system would also serve as a good source of long-term financing for infrastructure development. It would also enable financial services sector, especially banks to get access to long-term financing to deepen their funding of small and medium-scale enterprises, adding that the inclusion of the private sector in the management of pension fund would become critical in growing the country�s capital market. Metropolitan Pensions Ghana is a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Group of South Africa which has footprints in 12 African countries in health insurance, insurance and pensions and boasts of over 10 million customers. Prof. Adei, who is author of investment books and an ardent savings practitioner, expressed the hope that the introduction of the private sector in managing pensions would bring a major milestone in the country, bringing significant change on the financial landscape. He highly recommended Metropolitan Pensions Trust to the public, saying they had good systems, expertise and a wide investment reach that would give their clients the value they need when they retired. The Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan, Mr Diop Frimpong, said the company had the personnel and a good infrastructure system to provide timely, accurate and consistent services, with creative web-based operational processes which enabled their customers to do several things including checking their balances on-the-go. �We have transparent operational processes which are web-based, we have lined up excellent service providers and we�ll ensure that members are appropriately represented on the company�s board,� Mr Frimpong stated. The Regional Director for West Africa and New Business of Metropolitan, Mr A. J. Kruger, the company already had operations in Ghana in area of insurance, health insurance and now pensions, which he said would be managed expertly to ensure the security of pensions assets. He gave the assurance that the company would draw on its vast experience in Africa to develop an efficient first-rate operations in Ghana. Metropolitan was established in 2010 following the passage of the National Pensions Act 2008, Act 766, which allowed private pension fund companies to manage the five per cent second tier in the three-tier pensions management provided under the law.