A new study by the Centre for Retired Experts (CREX) has exposed a major gap in Ghana’s post-retirement system, with an overwhelming majority of pensioners willing to continue contributing their expertise to national development but lacking a structured platform through which to do so.
The study, conducted in February 2026 and involving 559 pensioners across Ghana, found that 96 per cent of respondents were willing to work beyond the mandatory retirement age, suggesting that the country may be losing a significant pool of experienced professionals simply because they have reached the formal retirement threshold.
The findings were presented at a high-level research dissemination seminar at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
Dr Adam Salifu, a lecturer at UPSA and co-researcher, said the key challenge was not the willingness of retirees to remain productive but the absence of an effective system to connect them with opportunities.
“The problem is about coordination and not willingness. Who is there to coordinate these people? They are willing to work, but we don’t have the mechanism there to coordinate them,” he said.
According to the research, about 93 per cent of pensioners surveyed were unaware of any existing platform through which they could offer their skills and professional experience after retirement.
The study further found that nearly all respondents were willing to mentor younger professionals, while about 88 per cent were prepared to serve as advisers or board members.
The researchers said the findings should prompt policymakers to rethink retirement as the end of a person’s economic and professional contribution to society.
Retirement not viewed as end of usefulness
The study found that retirement had not substantially weakened the respondents’ sense of purpose.
About 86 per cent rejected the view that they had become less useful to society after retirement, while approximately 87 per cent continued to regard themselves as useful to national development.
Even more significantly, about 97 per cent agreed that there is a gap between the potential of retirees and the existing systems for engaging them productively.
Dr Salifu said more than half of the respondents also favoured extending the retirement age to 65 years or beyond, indicating dissatisfaction with the current mandatory retirement age of 60 among a significant proportion of pensioners.
Mentoring seen as major opportunity
Beyond formal employment, the study identified several areas where retirees could continue to contribute.
About 90 per cent expressed willingness to mentor young professionals, while 88 per cent were ready to provide advisory services.
The research also found that approximately 98 per cent were willing to work in rural and deprived communities, potentially providing a valuable pool of experienced personnel for areas where professional expertise is often limited.
Nearly 98 per cent also indicated that they would volunteer for structured assignments if transportation and meals were provided.
More than 84 per cent said they could commit between one and four hours a day, while over 90 per cent were willing to work between one and four days a week.
Income is not the main motivation
Contrary to the assumption that pensioners primarily want to work to supplement their incomes, the study found that financial considerations accounted for only about 14 per cent of the motivations cited.
Many respondents instead wanted to remain mentally active, contribute to national development and continue using their professional experience.
Governance and development emerged as the most preferred areas of engagement, attracting about 21 per cent of respondents each, followed by business and education.
Agriculture and health recorded comparatively lower levels of interest.
Dr Salifu attributed the relatively low preference for agriculture partly to the labour-intensive nature of the sector and inadequate mechanisation, while noting that the response on health could have been influenced by the composition of the sample.
Call for structured post-retirement engagement
Although more than 95 per cent of respondents reported stable physical and mental conditions, Dr Salifu cautioned that good physical and mental health should not automatically be interpreted as financial security.
The study also revealed a sharp disconnect between retirees’ readiness to contribute and actual professional engagement.
Only about one in five retirees remained professionally active, with many others engaged mainly in religious, social, community and family activities.
The CREX findings therefore point to the need for a coordinated national framework that could create opportunities for retired professionals to mentor young people, serve on boards, provide technical advice and undertake short-term assignments.
Such a system, the researchers suggested, could allow Ghana to retain and transfer valuable institutional knowledge while giving retirees meaningful opportunities to continue contributing to society.
The findings ultimately challenge the perception that retirement necessarily marks the end of productive service, instead highlighting retirees as a largely untapped national resource whose expertise could be deployed more systematically for development.
