Ghana’s social security system has been described as the best in world.
Prof. Stephen Adei said it is the best in the world because, to his knowledge Ghana is the only country in the world whereby if you contribute 30 years to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) scheme you get 80% of the best three years of your contribution for the rest of your life even if you don’t get a lump sum.
Speaking on the topic: ‘Life after 40’, at a seminar at the Korle-bu Community Chapel in Accra, April 4, 2011, Prof. Stephen Adei, emphasised on the importance of planning one’s retirement.
The former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) argued that the typical Ghanaian has difficulties in thinking about retirement.
“Most Ghanaians start thinking about retirement only when it is about time to retire,” he said.
He said unfortunately, Ghanaians work for conviviality. Ghanaians, he said work to spend and often spend fortunes on the dead. This culture of working to spend, especially on funerals, he said is not good enough. He urged that to have a convenient retirement, Ghanaians should consciously work against that culture.
He revealed that the average life span at the UN, where he had worked for many years, after retirement is one year, because most people who work at the UN do not plan for their future and when they go on retirement, they die out of shock.
Planning one’s retirement he said should not only focus on money, but on how to spend one’s life.
“When it comes to retirement, no matter what age you are, planning is golden. If you don’t plan for your retirement most likely you are not going to have an enjoyable retirement,” he said.
He said some people live for another 30 years after retiring at 60. He said even if you die at 80, that is an additional 25% of your retirement age.
“I think it will be miserable for people to go on retirement and then wait to die about 30 or 20 years after,” he said.
Typical Ghanaians, he said have problems about retirement. “They often wait till it is about time to retire before they start thinking about retirement,” he said.
A good retirement plan he said should have other dimensions. Like how you are going to manage the daily issues of life and other issues that come with old age, including social issues.
He pointed out three sources of retirement income that Ghanaians can take advantage of.
He mentioned the SSNIT scheme, workers’ provident funds and private pensions and insurance.
He urged Ghanaians to contribute to the social security system because they will need it in their retirement.
He indicated that the Single Spine Salary Scheme is supposed to address the issue of good retirement packages for workers, because all the allowances are consolidated.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Excellent and is about time Ghanaians across the country receive good pension even if they are farmers. Keep the good work Prof. Adei
This is good. We need Professors like this to come up from time to time to make Ghanaians feel its not all that bad. There is something good from the bad picture
actually aim a student in social protection affairs i fell proud when i found Ghana being a model country in protecting sociaties in the wourld wide ,there is a very reason for other African countries to learn on how ghana has stepped for while sharing almost the same resources,let take out our inferioty complex and make a master plan