The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has transferred funds to two custodian accounts for the mandatory Tier-2 Occupational Pension Scheme.
The transferred amount represents the total value of contributions paid into the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) at the Bank of Ghana from January 2010 to December 2013 and covers for the first batch of private sector employers who have gone through the various compliance process.
A statement issued by the NPRA indicated that the money hit the accounts of the beneficiary schemes on Wednesday.
“The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has transferred funds from the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) at the Bank of Ghana to the first batch of employers in the private sector, who have registered under the mandatory 2nd Tier Occupational Pension Scheme and successfully gone through the application, validation and due diligence on the compliance process,” the statement read.
According to the statement, the Authority called for applications for the transfer of funds in December 2014 but had to put the exercise on hold due to the amendment to the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), which reduced the age of exemption from participation in the 3-Tier Pension Scheme from 55 years to 50 years.
It said after the call for applications in 2014, NPRA has received over 100 applications out of which only 18 schemes have met all requirements and successfully gone through the validation and are currently going through a due diligence process.
According to the Authority, the two schemes that have received the funds have successfully gone through the due diligence which qualifies them to receive the funds and urged applicants to take all the necessary steps required to complete the validation process in order to secure their transfers.
“Employers and Trustees of Schemes who have not applied, are also advised to formally put in their applications in order to secure their transfer,” the statement indicated.