The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has refuted suggestions that the eligibility age for retirement in Ghana has been reduced.

The current retirement age is 60 under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), as amended by the National Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 883).

However, the Ministry said Opera News recently published an article claiming that the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has announced a reduction of the age of retirement of state employees from 60 to 50.

Refuting the claim, the Assistant Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Osei-Opoku Gyamfi said that there is no such move by the government.

"The Ministry has not made any statement in that regard and as far as the Ministry is concerned there has been no move to reduce the retirement age of government employees, nor has there been a proposal discussed or contemplated at any level in the government," he said.

False publication

A press statement later described the online publication which bore the headline "Public Sector retirement age in Ghana to be reduced to 50 years" as misleading and urged the public to disregard the false publication.

"The minister has noted with great concern the misleading publication by Opera News. The Ministry wishes to inform the public that the said publication is untrue and malicious", the statement noted.

To its stakeholders, clientele and public, it also hinted that the government has not taken any decision to review the retirement age from 60 to 50.

Ghana’s public and private sector pension systems are integrated, with every Ghanaian citizen able to access a modern, three-tier structure, which is overseen by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).