The Centre for Retired Experts (CREX) is calling for a national framework to harness the skills and experience of retired professionals after a study found that 96% of Ghanaian pensioners surveyed are willing to continue contributing beyond the mandatory retirement age.

The February 2026 study, involving 559 pensioners, found a large pool of experienced Ghanaians ready to support national development through mentoring, advisory services, governance, education, business and community development.

The findings were presented at a CREX dissemination seminar in Accra.

Presenting the report, CREX Lead Researcher, Dr Adam Salifu, said about 90% of respondents were willing to mentor young professionals, while 88% were prepared to serve as advisers or board members.

Yet, only about one in five retirees remains professionally active, highlighting a significant gap between the willingness of retirees to contribute and the opportunities available to them.

Major untapped expertise

Dr Salifu said nearly 98% of respondents would register on a structured platform for retiree engagement, but 93% were unaware of any existing platform through which they could offer their expertise.

An overwhelming 97% agreed that there was a gap between the potential of retirees and existing systems for engaging them productively.

The study further found that retirees were motivated largely by the desire to remain mentally active and contribute to national development rather than financial reward.,

About 84% were willing to contribute between one and four hours a day, while more than 90% could work between one and four days a week.

More than half supported extending the current retirement age beyond 65, while about 86% rejected the notion that retirement had reduced their usefulness to society.

National retiree platform

CREX Director of Research and Training, Dr Benedicta Quao, called for a coordinated national system linking retirees’ expertise with opportunities in public institutions, private organisations and civil society.

She said the system should provide transparent skills matching, clear governance, flexible engagement arrangements and standard guidelines for post-retirement contracts and incentives.

It should also promote digital and lifelong learning, capture institutional knowledge before employees exit, establish mentoring programmes and encourage qualified retirees to serve on advisory boards, governance structures, voluntary assignments and part-time consultancy roles.

CREX Executive Director, Prof Albert Martins, described retirees’ experience as a national asset “as real as our gold, as valuable as our cocoa, and as strategic as our oil”.

He said Ghana was sitting on one of its richest but most underutilised human-resource assets.

“Every time a capable retired professional is left without a pathway to serve, Ghana risks losing decades of institutional memory, technical knowledge, professional networks and leadership experience,” he said.

Retirement as new national service

CREX Director of Health, Dr Chris Boamah-Mensah, said retired experts could strengthen institutions, mentor younger professionals and provide practical guidance in communities where experienced personnel were scarce.

He urged the government to move beyond treating retirement as the end of productive contribution and instead promote it as a new stage of national service.

CREX Director of Business, Dr Sampson Narteh-Yoe, also urged public institutions, businesses, civil society organisations and development partners to establish systems to identify, register and deploy retired experts.

“Such systems can ensure that Ghana continues to benefit from the capabilities of citizens who remain ready, willing and able to serve,” he said.

The seminar, chaired by Prof Alexander Preko, Director of the UPSA Research and Consultancy Centre, brought together retired experts from various sectors.

CREX said the findings should stimulate policy dialogue, partnerships and institutional reforms towards a national framework for systematically deploying the expertise of retired professionals.