The CEO of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority says a national dialogue is required if major changes in the pensions sector, such as the increment of pension contributions, is to happen.

Hayford Atta Krufi decisions such as the increment of pension contributions, retirement age etc cannot be done by the administrator or the Pensions Trust itself.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, the Business Edition, Mr Atta Krufi said although an increase in pension contributions will help the Pension Fund grow, it will require a national concerted decision to increase pension payouts.

“Ideally with contributions going up, there will be a lot more to go into the SSNIT fund. But these are decisions that cannot be taken by the administrator or the trust itself. We have to have a national conversation,” he said.

He added that key stakeholders would also need to be engaged to mitigate the phenomenon of indebtedness which has plagued the Pensions Trust.

 “At the end of the day, when you talk about contribution, it’s the employer and the employee ability to pay; because currently with 13% that the employer is paying, we’ve talked about indebtedness. The biggest employer is government, and we’ve talked about the indebtedness here,” he said

He further explained that “So if the contribution should go up to let’s say 19, 20, 21, per cent it means that the proportion that the individual or the employer will have to pay will have to go up. Can we afford that? That is why the national conversation needs to take place.”

He also intimated that while a national conversation on increasing pension contribution is being sparked, other conversations surrounding the age for retirement, and whether pensions have to be paid from allowances too should also be looked at for a thorough and holistic reform of the pension sector.

“There are also with whether retirement age should also be increased. That requires stakeholder conversation and national conversation. Also the issue about whether only basic salary should be used in computing pensions or paying pensions, or allowances should also be added.

“All these things are issues that need a big big conversation and with networks like yours, we would need the mouthpiece like this to bring this issue to the fore. So that the big pension questions can be asked and answers can be given as a nation so that we can move forward,” he said.