African countries need urgent pension reforms – Veep to APSA participants

Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has called for urgent pension reforms across Africa, warning that nearly 85 percent of the continent’s workforce remains outside formal retirement protection. Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Annual Conference of the African Pension Supervisors Association (APSA) in Accra, the Vice President said the continent must rethink pension systems to reflect the realities of Africa’s labour market, where a large share of workers operate in the informal sector and earn irregular incomes. According to her, current projections indicate that the number of Africans aged 60 years and above will exceed 226 million by 2050, making pension reform a pressing policy issue for governments across the continent.

“Current projections suggest that the number of Africans aged 60 years and above will exceed 226 million by 2050. Yet pension systems across the continent currently cover less than one-fifth of the workforce. Nearly 85% of workers are working outside formal retirement protection,” she stated.

The Vice President noted that traditional pension systems were largely designed around formal employment relationships characterised by predictable incomes and regular contributions. “Yet Africa’s labour market is far more diverse and dynamic,” she said, adding that many citizens move between occupations, combine multiple sources of livelihood and work outside traditional employment structures. She stressed that these realities require governments and regulators to redesign retirement systems to include informal sector workers.

“These realities require us to reimagine old age security by designing systems that recognise the realities of informal work and create pathways through which workers in the informal sector can participate meaningfully in retirement savings and protection schemes,” she said. Professor Opoku-Agyemang also urged African countries to embrace technology as a tool for expanding pension coverage and improving service delivery. She highlighted digital identification systems, mobile money platforms, financial technology solutions, data-driven supervision and emerging digital infrastructure as opportunities that could significantly improve pension inclusion across the continent.

“Digital identification systems, mobile money platforms, financial technology solutions, data-driven supervision and emerging digital infra…