The Health Service Workers Union (HSWU) has charged the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to account for the 80 months contributions of public service workers pension funds.
The Union is also demanding the Authority to transfer the funds into licensed schemes as agreed between 12 unions and government.
Failure to do that, the Union has threatened to embark on a demonstration to protest , indicating that they would not allow the Authority to jeopardise their pensions.
The General Secretary of HSWU Reynolds OfosuTenkorang, who said this at a symposium in Accra today, explained that the demand is necessary to enable members who will be retiring in January 2020 calculate their benefits under the Tier 2 pension as benefits were based on contributions and investment returns.
“The four Public Sector Pension Schemes is currently faced with myriads of challenges. Key amongst them is the failure of the NPRA to account for 80 months contributions of public service workers, but retirement is in sight for some of us. We demand that they pay the monies into the various schemes to enable us to calculate our benefits based on the contributions and returns on investment,” he said.
The symposium, which was organised in Accra by the HSWU as part of its anniversary week celebration, had the theme, “Tier 2 Pension in the Public Service; Reality or Mirage.
According to Mr Tenkorang, the Union has further identified certain illegal factors employed by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in the computation of retirees’ benefits, resulting in a slash of benefits due them.
“A study we conducted recently revealed to us grave anomalies in the computation of benefits due some public service workers. About a handful of workers suffered as a result of such errors, and we initiated moves to get SSNIT to do the right thing, which they did,” Mr Tenkorang added.
The anomalies, he said, were against the Social Security Pension PNDC Law 247 of 1991 and must be quickly rectified to avoid unnecessary discomfort to retirees, adding that the HSWU was ready to support the National Tripartite Committee to resolve the challenges.
He stated that the HSWU had established a welfare and pension desk to monitor payments made to members and forward petitions to SSNIT, if necessary, to push for refunds when anomalies are detected.
Mr David Tetteh-Amey Abbey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, NPRA, assured the public service workers that their contributions were safe and as required by the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), the NPRA was transferring the monies in tranches to their licensed Tier 2 schemes.
“So far, we have successfully transferred an amount of GH¢555,966,192.38 belonging to 258,422 employees under 8,116 employers for both private and public sector workers who do not draw their salaries from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department,” he stressed.
He said the Authority was working with the principal stakeholders including scheme trustees, independent trustees, scheme administrators and the CAGD to facilitate the smooth transfer of contributions into respective scheme accounts for continued investment.
Mr Abbey explained that NPRA had reviewed the existing guidelines on investment of Pension Scheme Funds to drive the growth of the country’s economy.
By Nii Adotey/adrdaily.com
