The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has refuted rumours about reducing the eligibility age for retirement in Ghana.

The current retirement age is 60 in accordance with the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), as amended by the National Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 883).

Denying a publication by a news portal called Opera News which recently published an article claiming that the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has announced a reduction of the age of retirement of state employees from 60 to 50, he urged Ghanaians to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves.

"The minister has noted with great concern the misleading publication by Opera News. The Ministry wishes to inform the public that the said publication is untrue and malicious," the statement noted.

Assistant Public Relations Officer at the Ministery of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Osei-Opoku Gyamfi said that there is no such move by the government.

"The Ministry has not made any statement in that regard and as far as the Ministry is concerned there has been no move to reduce the retirement age of government employees, nor has there been a proposal discussed or contemplated at any level in the government," he said.

The publication is misleading and urged the public to disregard it.

The minister has however assured its stakeholders, clientele and public, that government has not taken any steps to review the retirement age from 60 to 50.

Ghana’s public and private sector pension systems are integrated, with every Ghanaian citizen being able to access a modern, three-tier structure, which is overseen by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).