Mr Hayford Attah Krufi, Chief Executive Officer, National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), says, the Authority’s Pensions College will commence programmes in April 2021 to address the knowledge gap in the industry.

Speaking at a press engagement on Tuesday, he said the Regulatory body’s aim was to fully equip the industry players with knowledge in pensions to be conversant with the law relating to pensions and investment principles of the schemes' assets.

He said Act 766 (sections 143-144) and its accompanying regulation LI 1990 (Regulation 7) placed the responsibility on Regulators to ensure that Trustees and players mandated had the requisite knowledge to administer private pensions or provide related services in the administration of private pension schemes.

He said the establishment of the Pensions College had become necessary primarily because, during the initial stages of the pension reform, the Authority was burdened with transitional issues and had to resort to the partnership with already established training institutions.

“Ten years of the reform, the Authority has resolved most of the transitional issues and must now consider sustainable ways of delivering on the mandate of ensuring that private pension providers possess the requisite knowledge at all times to minimize risks associated with the private pension schemes,” he said.

He said the College’s objectives included; the provision of basic and professional training in pensions and offer continuous professional development to service providers and other industry players; help train other professionals and graduates who wish to join the pensions industry; and deepen financial literacy, especially in pension products among citizens.

He said the courses would be rolled out in a session where each would be a three-day intensive one with a maximum of 25 participants in observance of the COVID 19 safety protocols.

Mr Krufi said the courses would be facilitated by NPRA personnel, and other industry experts may be engaged if necessary, adding that special collaborations with similar institutions, namely Ghana Insurance College, Ghana Investment and Securities Institute, and the National Banking College had been secured for some modules.

Mr Amartey Vondee, Director of Planning and Research, NPRA, said the college’s secretariat, as well as course venues, would be hosted in the SU Tower at Ridge in Accra. Additionally, he said plans were in place to hold some sessions virtually and extend centres to regional offices.

He said the non-academic modules were structured to ensure that Trustees acquired in-depth knowledge and understanding in pension management and trusteeship to ensure compliance, to make Boards of Trustees aware of the expectations of the Regulator.

He informed that it would address critical issues emerging from monitoring.