What you need to know about Tier 2&3 Pension Scheme for GES Staff

Staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES) have contributed to the Tier 2 and 3 Pension Scheme .

This is what you need to know about the pension scheme.

1. Administrators: Glico pensions
2. Custodian: Prudential Bank
3. Fund manager 1: Frontline Capital Advisors
4. Fund manager 2: Databank Fund Asset Managers
5. Independent Trustees: Petra Trust

Glico, databank and Prudential bank are government nominees. They came to replace Pensions Alliance Trust, Firstbanc and UMB respectively.

Frontline Capital Advisors and Petra Trust are Union nominees and remains unchanged from inception of the tier two.

The government nominations and that of the Unions are as a result of an out of court settlement in October 2015.

The board of trustees are fifteen. Ten from the Unions including the independent trustees (Petra) and five from government.

The board chairman is from government and the Unions has majority on the board.

Government nominees on the board:
1. Nathaniel Otoo – Board chairman
2. Pearl Akiwumi Siriboe – Attorney General’s rep
3. Lawyer Anthony Boateng – GES rep
4. Wilhelmina Asamoah – MoE rep
5. Sampson Akligo – MoF rep

Unions members on the board:

GNAT REPS
1. Ofori Acheampong David
2. Abena Gyamera
3. Kwamena Ahenakwa Quarshie

NAGRAT reps:
1. Christian Addai Poku
2. Angel Agbe Carbonu

CCT GH reps:
1. King Ali Awudu
2. Godfred Sepenu

TEWU reps:
1. Augustine Saakor Kaabo
2. Alexander Frimpong.

Independent Trustees:
1. Petra Trust (remember Petra is a permanent member of the board nominated by the Unions to always give independence opinion)

Note that the service providers brought by the NDC government were PAT(administrator)UMB (custodian) and Firstbanc (fund manager 2). Their contract with the board expired on the 12th November, 2018. The NPP government decided not to renominate them. By the court ruling NPP has the right to do so.

How much each individual teacher contribute to the tier two is indicated at the bottom of the payslip. You will see both the monthly deduction and your YTD (year to date) meaning the total amount you have contributed in that particular year.

Be informed that SSNIT is largely controlled by government and not the Unions although organised labour has two reps on the SSNIT board (currently TUC secretary general and gnat general secretary)

Tier 1 which is SSNIT will begin paying only monthly pension whereas the tier 2 would pay lump sum upon retirement beginning January 2020.

Know that tier 3 is optional and voluntary. GNAT is the only teacher union that has established a Tier 3 fund called GNAT Providence Fund for members to enrol onto.

Members can contribute up to 16.5% of their basic salary for Tier 3. The fund started full operation since August last year. All the needed structures needed are already in place.

The GNAT Providence Fund has a 7 member board certified by NPRA.

It has United Pension Trustees as fund administrators, New World Investment as fund managers and Zenith Bank as custodians.

The board has obtained the tax exemption certificate and it became operational in March 2019.

Since March 2019, all GNAT members on the Tier 3 have started enjoying reduction in income tax payment.

The law allows for partial withdrawal. Members are also allowed to use their contributions to take mortgage loans.

From January 1 2020, GNAT members going on retirement will enjoy the following enhanced pensions:

1. Monthly pension from SSNIT

2 . Lump sum from GES Occupational Pension Scheme

3.  Total contribution with interest from Teachers Fund (for fund members only)

4.  Total contribution with interest from GNAT Providence Fund (for fund members)

Glico Pensions, the current administrators of the tier two, are working on the TPFA ( the tier two arrears from January 2010 to August 2016) so that it can be added to that was managed by Pensions Alliance Trust (they managed the funds from September 2016 up to March 2019 when they fully handed over to Glico pensions) so they can provide benefits statement to each teacher.