Mr. Gabriel Nyame, a Kumasi-based Chartered Accountant has noted that maintaining mandatory retirement age at 60 in Ghana is not only impeding development but also affecting productivity.
He observed that Ghana is currently losing a wealth of experienced, committed and specialised professionals in the public sector due to the mandatory retirement age of 60.
“The consequence is that the compulsory retirement age impedes development as well as reduction in productivity in the country”, he said in an interview with The Chronicle.
According to Mr. Nyame, the mentality inherited from the colonial masters that retirement at 60 will primarily eliminate chronic unemployment challenges facing the country is not relevant these days.
Mr. Nyame explained that unemployment is a complex and systemic challenge that cannot be solved simply by vacating posts emphasising that even if the retirement age was lowered to 45, it would not eliminate unemployment.
He further argued that the number of annual retirees does not equate to the vast number of graduates entering the job market each year and that forcing experts out of the workforce does not solve the youth job crisis.
“It only creates a ‘brain drain’ within our institutions”, he explained. He wondered why our leaders follow the principles and ideology of our colonial masters in the area of governance, but have remained static and completely ignored the principles of retirement age.
He cited instances where the UK and USA have recently increased their pension age from sixty-five (65) to sixty-seven (67) while Ghana is still forcing retirement at age 60.
Mr. Nyame advised against losing our professionals, clinical consultants and experts who are capable of working despite the age to help build the nation and increase productivity.
He mentioned the decisive leadership and firm stance of President John Dramani Mahama saying the nation would have been deprived of the meritorious services and impact of the indefatigable and experienced Inspector-General Police.
He commended the President’s vision of leadership that such individuals are retained to ensure their knowledge is not wasted at home, but utilised for the good of the public good.
Mr. Nyame has suggested that the retirement age for sectors like academics, health professionals and technical experts must be increased to retain institutional memory as well as reduce the high cost of rehiring retired staff on expensive short-term contracts.
He noted that adjusting the retirement age supports the financial viability of SSNIT and ensures Pension sustainability.
Mr. Nyame noted that as life expectancy rises, the current system faces strain and that a longer working life ensures a more balanced ratio of contributors to beneficiaries.
The Chartered Accountant has called for a revision of the mandatory retirement age to avert brain drain.
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