Ghana is facing a deepening retirement planning gap, with many workers entering old age financially unprepared due to low financial literacy and a culture of postponing pension contributions.
This is according to the General Manager at Petra Trust, Eugene O. Birikorang who asserts the problem is not just income levels but behavioural, with many workers failing to actively engage with their retirement savings until it is almost too late.
Speaking on the on-air series of the 2026 Citi Business Festival with Nii Larte Lartey, Eugene O. Birikorang, said a worrying number of workers have little or no engagement with their pension accounts, despite deductions being made monthly.
“The average 25, 30 year old, 35 year old is not active about their retirement. When you interact with people, they don’t even know where their pensions are,” he said.
He explained that even basic pension awareness remains low across the workforce, with some employees unaware of who manages their contributions or whether their employers are remitting payments correctly.
“They don’t check their pensions. They don’t. The data that we hold, some of their telephone numbers are even wrong. And when you send them messages, they don’t check it,” he added.
Mr. Birikorang said the problem is reinforced by the perception that retirement is a distant concern, noting that many workers only begin to pay attention when they are close to retirement age.
“Because in their mind, pensions is for the old people,” he said.
He also described a widespread misconception that individuals can simply rely on future income or side businesses to secure their retirement, a mindset he warned is risky.
“The biggest misconception is people think they are going to be generally okay and we don’t think about pensions until it is a little too late,” he stated.
Ghana’s pension system, reformed under the 2011 National Pensions Act (Act 766), operates a three-tier structure with Tier 1 managed by SSNIT, Tier 2 by private trustees, and voluntary Tier 3 and additional personal pension arrangements.
Mr. Birikorang explained that while Tier 1 provides a defined benefit, Tier 2 and Tier 3 are contribution-based and investment-driven, making active participation critical to retirement outcomes.
He further cautioned that retirement often comes with higher living costs, even though income drops significantly.
“When you go on pension, your cost increases. Today you have a work car when you go on pension, you need to provide your own car, your own health insurance,” he said.
Mr. Birikorang urged workers to treat retirement planning as a first financial priority, not an afterthought.
“Anytime you earn money, pay your future self-first,” he stressed.
He advised workers to combine pension contributions with emergency savings of at least six months’ income to cushion against job loss, illness, or business shocks.
“Make sure that at least you have six months of salary saved in some investment somewhere that tomorrow, if something happens, you can survive,” he said.
Mr. Birikorang added that Petra Trust continues to expand its role beyond pensions into broader financial planning, including investment advisory and wealth-building products aimed at long-term security and generational wealth creation.
The 2026 Citi Business Festival is powered by 97.3 Citi FM and Channel One TV in partnership with Absa Bank and sponsored by Absa Bank, MTN, Zonda Tec Ghana Limited and Petra eTrust.
