The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has now assigned Private Fund Administrators also known as Corporate Trustees to companies that have failed to register the mandatory 2^nd Tier Occupational Pension Scheme for their workers.

Dubbed Compulsory Enrolment, the process took effect from 1^st December. In a statement the NPRA said all employers are required to cooperate with their respective Corporate Trustees to complete the enrolment process.

Once enrolled, such employers will only be allowed to transfer to another scheme after 12 months of consistently paying the monthly 2^nd tier contributions (i.e. 5% of contributor’s basic salary).

Enrolment under the 2^nd Tier Scheme is a pre-requisite for accessing funds in the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) with the Bank of Ghana since the funds can only be transferred to a registered scheme administered by a licensed Trustee.

According to the authority the compulsory enrolment onto the mandatory scheme is the first line of action for the affected Employers or Establishments – adding that it reserves the right to invoke punitive measures including a fine or a term of imprisonment or both in line with provisions of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766).

Speaking with JOY BUSINESS, the Manager for Education and Training at the NPRA, Emmanuel Dagbanu noted the compulsory enrolment has become necessary because, out of the over 40 thousand companies registered under the old SSNIT Pension Scheme, only about 11 thousand have registered 2^nd tier schemes with Trustees for their workers - as required by law.

“When you go to SSNIT you just go to the same point to pay both the 1^st and 2^nd tier. But here’s the case where we are saying go to SSNIT to pay the 1^st and go to your Trustee’s bank to pay the 2^nd. One. So people are having challenges by way of inconveniences and we understand all these that’s why we are doing a lot of education.

“It doesn’t mean such companies are not paying the 2nd tier contributions but only means they’ve not registered with a Trustee and so they still go to SSNIT to pay the 2^nd tier and it goes to the Temporary Pension Funds Account at the Bank of Ghana. But until they are able to register their 2^nd tier with a trustee, they would not get their contributions from 2010 transferred,” he said.

Mr. Dagbanu also outlined the obligations for employers in question as well as measures to ensure a successful exercise.

“Whichever Corporate Trustee that picks you as an employer or a client automatically you have to register with that particular trustee and you can port only after you have contributed for 12 months as a form of sanction. We have also engaged all the key stakeholders especially the Trustees, Organized Labour, Custodians, Fund Managers as well as SSNIT since they are still collecting the 2^nd tier contributions on behalf of such group of people,” he added.