Life Expectancy in Ghana is Rising Yet Most Retirees Live in Financial Distress — Mante Laments

Ghana‘s growing life expectancy is not being matched by financial preparedness in retirement, a gap that spells serious hardship for many in their later years, according to Paul Kofi Mante, Managing Director of EDC Investment Limited.

Speaking at the 2025 edition of the Money Summit organized by the Business & Financial Times (B&FT), Mante highlighted how Ghanaians are living longer, often up to 90 years, but with little to no financial cushioning after retirement. “You could live 30 years after you retire at age 60. What’s your plan for those 30 years?” he asked. “It’s not a joke. Living long is a blessing, but it becomes a burden if you’re not financially ready.”

He pointed to current data showing that only 300,000 out of approximately two million Ghanaians over the age of 60 are receiving a monthly SSNIT pension. Of those, a staggering 96% earn GHS 5,000 or less a month, a figure he suggested is inadequate for meeting basic needs, particularly in a climate of rising costs.

Mante emphasized that retirement planning in Ghana remains worryingly weak, with many people depending entirely on SSNIT or not planning at all. He urged individuals to rethink their financial habits early in life and to focus on building assets, not just savings. “The goal is not just to save; it’s to invest. You must accumulate assets that can generate income for you when you no longer earn a salary.”

Explaining why Ghanaians must take investing seriously, Mante outlined three key reasons. First, he said you will stop working one day, whether by choice or circumstance. Second, your children are not your retirement plan, pointing out that shifting economic realities and global mindsets make it unrealistic to depend on the next generation. Third, life will not stop after retirement, and financial responsibilities like rent, healthcare, and daily expenses will continue, often increasing with age.

“We have to unlearn the idea that retirement is far off,” he said. “Financial freedom comes from planning. It comes from investing in the future as deliberately as you spend in the present.”

He also called for a cultural shift in how Ghanaians perceive money, retirement, and responsibility. “We spend today and leave tomorrow to chance,” he noted. “But the truth is, the future is not as far away as it looks. A GHS 100 habit today could become a GHS 100,000 opportunity missed tomorrow.”

On the institutional side, Mante urged financial service providers and policymakers to play a more proactive role in educating the public about long-term planning and in making retirement investment products more accessible, especially to informal workers who make up the majority of Ghana’s workforce.

He wrapped his remarks with a call for urgency, warning that without deliberate financial planning, many Ghanaians risk growing old and becoming financially dependent, not because they didn’t work hard, but because they didn’t plan adequately.

Last Updated on April 30, 2025 by samboad