For the market woman in Makola, the carpenter in Suame, and the driver on the Accra-Tema Motorway, retirement savings just got a lot easier.

People's Pension Trust (PPT), in partnership with MTN Mobile Money Fintech Limited, has launched FlexiPension — a digital retail personal pension product designed specifically for Ghana's informal sector workers. The launch happened today as part of PPT's 10th anniversary celebrations.

Here's the problem FlexiPension is trying to solve: 80% of Ghana's workforce — 14.2 million people — work in the informal sector. Yet only 1.2 million of them are enrolled in any pension scheme. That's barely 16%. The NPRA boss called it a "structural failure."

"We were told the informal sector was too fragmented, too unpredictable and too challenging to serve. We were told that people without regular incomes could not meaningfully participate in pensions. Every time we heard those arguments, we returned to the same conviction: that is precisely why it must be done." — Issaka Ibrahim, CEO, People's Pension Trust

So how does FlexiPension work? Contributions are automatically deducted from a subscriber's MTN Mobile Money wallet and split equally between a savings account and an investment account. The savings portion can be accessed after six months. The investment part stays locked to build long-term retirement wealth.

No minimums. No maximums. You can save daily, weekly, or whenever you have money. Your mobile money wallet handles the rest.

The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) gave its formal "No Objection" approval for the product back in June 2025 after a thorough assessment. The NPRA CEO called the launch "a significant milestone" and praised PPT for building a product around the "lived financial realities of our people."

Industry experts believe this could significantly boost pension penetration among market traders, artisans, transport operators, farmers, gig workers, and self-employed professionals — the backbone of Ghana's informal economy.

PPT CEO Issaka Ibrahim said the company started ten years ago with a question: "Not how do we build a pension company, but rather how do we build a pension company that works for the market woman in Makola, the carpenter in Suame, the farmer in Tamale, and the driver on the Accra-Tema Motorway?"

Ghana's pension assets under management have surpassed GH¢100 billion, but participation among informal workers remains low. FlexiPension aims to change that by meeting workers where they are — on their phones.

"Starting today, that changes. Because retirement planning has become more accessible, more flexible and more relevant to the realities of everyday Ghanaian workers. And that is why this launch matters, not because of the technology, not because of the innovation, but because the future of pensions is inclusive." — Issaka Ibrahim

The NPRA also commended MTN Ghana and MTN Mobile Money Fintech Limited for using their digital infrastructure to support financial inclusion. "By bridging this platform with FlexiPension, MTN has placed retirement security directly into the palms of millions," the regulator said.

With 14.2 million informal workers still outside the pension net, the question is whether FlexiPension can finally close that gap. For now, it's the most practical attempt yet.