Paul Kofi Mante, the Managing Director of EDC Investment Ltd., has expressed concern about the current state of pensions in Ghana. During the Business and Financial Times–Ecobank Money Summit, Mante highlighted that over 90% of retirees receive less than GH¢5,000 per month. He emphasized that this statistic is alarming, considering that Ghana should have about 2 million people over the age of 60.
Currently, fewer than 300,000 individuals are on the SSNIT pension, prompting questions about the financial security of the remaining 1.7 million elderly citizens. The summit, themed “Optimizing Investment and Pension Management: Strategies for Sustainable Retirement Income and Economic Growth,” highlighted several factors impeding investment in pensions, with low salaries being a significant challenge. Despite these obstacles, Mante stressed the importance of investing in a secure financial future.
“One of the reasons why it’s important to invest is to prepare for old age,” Mante stated. In the session, we discussed issues such as low monthly pension payments in many developing countries, including Ghana. People are living longer than before.
If the retirement age is 60, a person could easily live until 85 or even 90, which is up to 25 years without a regular monthly income. And children should be seen as a responsibility, not as a retirement plan.”
The conversation at the summit underscored the need for individuals to take personal responsibility for their futures and advocated for strategies to improve financial literacy and pension investment. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, is advocating for a strategic shift in pension fund investments to ensure sustainability.
According to him, this shift could significantly improve pension fund investments, boost returns, reduce the overreliance on government securities, and strengthen the financial sector. Speaking at the 2025 Money Summit organized by the Business & Financial Times (B&FT) in Accra, Mr. Awuah emphasized the need for fund managers to explore alternative investment tools that can deliver long-term value and support national development.
He stressed that the future of investment and pension fund management requires a fundamental shift in the approach to risk diversification and governance. Mr. Awuah underscored the importance of embracing alternative investments and ensuring professional management of pension funds.
He believes that this approach will not only ensure the sustainability of pension funds and their value for retirement but also create an environment conducive to economic growth. This advocacy comes at a time when the country’s financial sector is facing reduced returns on investments in government securities due to the domestic debt exchange exercise. Additionally, there have been concerns about poor investment decisions and low returns from investments made by the country’s largest pension trustee, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
Mr. Awuah supported the call for creating a balanced portfolio that diversifies risks when investing pension funds.
Ghana’s pension challenges and solutions
He also emphasized the importance of good governance practices in managing pension funds. Fidelity Bank’s Deputy Managing Director for Wholesale Banking, Kwabena Boateng, has called for a differentiated approach to pension investment strategies based on the contributor’s age, as part of broader reforms aimed at insulating the retirement system from economic volatility and political risks. Speaking at the 2025 Money Summit, Mr.
Boateng urged policymakers and fund managers to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to pension management. Instead, he advocated dynamic asset allocation frameworks that reflect the investment horizons and risk profiles of different age groups. “Younger contributors with a longer investment horizon could potentially benefit from strategies that include a higher allocation to growth-oriented assets, while those closer to retirement might prioritise more conservative, income-generating investments,” Mr.
Boateng said. This comes as stakeholders continue to bear the burden of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), which eroded trust in the domestic bond market and adversely impacted pensioners whose investments were primarily tied to government securities. Fidelity Bank’s DMD stated that the experience underscored the urgent need to diversify pension portfolios beyond sovereign debt instruments.
He noted that current practices limit pension funds’ ability to unlock higher value for contributors and channel capital into long-term, high-impact sectors, such as infrastructure, private equity, private debt, and green financing. “Challenges create opportunities,” he said, signaling the potential for growth if inefficiencies are addressed. Addressing cost dynamics within the pension fund sector, Mr.
Boateng raised concerns over the increasing push to minimize management fees, cautioning that such efforts could come at the expense of service quality and professional oversight. He expressed support for ongoing deliberations around establishing a minimum fee threshold for pension fund managers, stating that effective and sustainable fund management depends on attracting and retaining skilled professionals. “Cost matters – but not at the expense of quality.
Let us not undermine the very people we need to safeguard our retirement savings,” he stated. Mr. Boateng also weighed in on macroeconomic policy, arguing that persistently high interest rates – used by the Bank of Ghana to tame inflation – have constrained credit growth, limiting access to finance for households and small businesses.
“Facilitating broader access to capital markets can promote sustainable economic growth without necessarily stoking the inflationary pressures that often accompany rapid credit expansion,” he noted. He recommended a more “nuanced and sustainable approach” to inflation that reflects the specific structural realities of the Ghanaian economy. As inflation begins to recede and the cedi shows signs of stabilizing, the banker urged policymakers to strengthen the domestic capital market.
He encouraged both SMEs and larger firms to raise medium- to long-term financing through instruments such as bonds and equities, thereby reducing the economy’s over-reliance on bank lending. He stressed that doing so would “redirect domestic capital into productive economic activities,” enhance financial system stability, and buffer the economy against external shocks.
