SmartPensions targets informal sector workers as People’s Pension Trust, Pan-African launch retirement scheme

People’s Pension Trust Ghana Limited and Pan-African Savings and Loans have launched SmartPensions, a retirement savings initiative aimed at extending pension coverage to informal sector workers and making retirement planning more accessible to Ghanaians.

The initiative, launched at Madina market in Accra, is designed to enable traders, artisans, drivers, entrepreneurs and other self-employed individuals to build retirement savings through flexible daily, weekly and monthly contributions.

The partnership seeks to address the retirement planning gap among workers outside the formal employment sector, many of whom lack structured arrangements to secure their financial future after years of economic activity.

Chief Executive Officer of People’s Pension Trust, Ibrahim Issaka, said the initiative was designed to address the longstanding perception that pension savings are primarily for people in formal employment.

“The market trader, the entrepreneur, the artisan and the self-employed person also deserve a comfortable and dignified retirement,” he said.

He said the partnership with Pan-African Savings and Loans would help bring pension services closer to people in their workplaces and communities.

Managing Director of Pan-African Savings and Loans, Jacqueline Dufie Mpare, said the initiative also provides an opportunity for informal sector workers to build financial independence rather than depend on their children for support during retirement.

She urged traders and market women to begin saving with whatever they could afford, noting that consistency was more important than the size of their initial contributions.

“Do not wait until you have plenty before you begin; whatever you can spare today will be worth more to you tomorrow,” she said.

Managing Director of EDC Investments Limited, Paul Mante, said retirement planning must go beyond setting money aside, emphasising the importance of investing contributions to support long-term wealth creation.

“Earning money and building wealth are two different things. A person can work for thirty years and still retire with nothing. Hard work alone is not a financial plan,” he said.

Mr Mante explained that SmartPensions provides workers with irregular incomes the opportunity to contribute towards retirement through flexible daily, weekly and monthly payment arrangements.

He noted that contributions are invested in accordance with applicable pension regulations and investment guidelines, with the objective of growing members' retirement savings.

“Saving alone is not enough. Your money must be invested so that it can grow,” he stressed.

The initiative is part of efforts by the three institutions to deepen financial inclusion and extend structured retirement savings opportunities to workers who have traditionally been underserved by formal pension arrangements.