The Executive Director of the Africa Center for Retirement Research (ACRR), Mr. Abdallah Mashud made a presentation at the annual conference of the European Network for Research on Supplementary Pensions (ENRSP) in Leuven, Belgium. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘the interconnectivity between pension types’. The conference brought together researchers on pensions from several countries who shared their respective countries’ experiences in the delivery of retirement benefits to citizens. A total of 17 papers were presented during the two-day conference (19-20th October, 2023)
Mr. Abdallah, who represented the ACRR, made a presentation on the topic “Bridging the Socioeconomic Inequalities in the Era of Economic Crisis – the Role of Pension Indexation Policies and Impact”. The presentation highlighted the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Governments, Financial Systems, and vulnerable groups (who have been disproportionately affected). He emphasized the need for African governments to rethink the mode of the provision of social security benefits with an emphasis on policies and the design of the programs.
He called for policy innovations to improve benefits adequacy, sustainability, and coverage for inclusive economic growth in the continent. He urged countries to adopt deliberate and innovative policy measures to improve benefits to low-earners and to slow down the growing socioeconomic inequalities. One such deliberate measure is to reexamine the impact and methods of pension indexation policies.
Accordingly, the ACRR, based on an analysis of variances and several poverty measurement indicators, proposed a new pension redistribution model for the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in Ghana. The model aims to minimize the spread (inequities) in redistributing benefits and to minimize the impact of inflation on the cost of pensions. He argues that pension indexation policies present an opportunity to redistribute from rich to poor (social security principle of solidarity).