15 Employers facing criminal prosecution for not paying employees’ pension contributions – NPRA

The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has stated that some 15 employers are currently facing criminal prosecution for failing to pay pension contributions of their employees.

According to Hayford Atta Krufi, the Chief Executive of NPRA, his outfit has received GH¢3 million from Corporate Trustees as of January 2021.

This was after the NPRA issued final demand notices to 60 employers as a final reminder to make good their indebtedness or be prosecuted.

“The authority has decided to deal with the defaulting employers in batches of 20 employers at a time. Out of the first batch of 20 employers, six did not respond at all and have been summoned to court for prosecution. Currently, a total number of 15 employers are being processed for prosecution. The total amount received by Corporate Trustees at the end of January 2021 was GHS 3,089,993.38,” he said.

Atta Krufi told Joy News in a report sighted by GhanaWeb that the authority has secured prosecutorial powers to prosecute employers who default in paying employees pensions contributions to the appropriate trustees as demanded by law.

“Another vital success story to tell is that we as an authority have secured powers to prosecute. The provisions of Act 766 of 2008, mandating employers to register and contribute to the Basic Scheme (SSNIT) and Tier 2 Schemes were not always being complied with, leading to some employees of such establishments being disadvantaged at the period of their lives when they would be no longer able to fend for themselves and negating the authority’s mandate.

“The NPRA applied for prosecutorial powers from the Attorney-General in April 2018 and obtained an Executive Instrument (EI 26) to prosecute defaulting employers on the Tier 2 schemes in July 2018. Since July 2020, the authority has issued final demand notices to 60 employers as a final reminder to make good their indebtedness or be prosecuted,” he noted.

Atta Krufi said there will be training “in the second quarter of 2021. The course shall be rolled out in a session, and each session will be a 3-day intensive session which shall comprise a maximum of 25 participants. COVID 19 protocols shall be strictly observed.

“Courses will be facilitated by NPRA personnel, and other industry experts may be engaged if necessary. Special collaborations with similar institutions, namely Ghana Insurance College, Ghana Investment and Securities Institute, and the National Banking College, have been secured for some modules.”