Retirement Preparation of Ordained Ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana

The objective of the study was on retirement preparation among Ordained Ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Primary data in the form of questionnaires and interviews were used in the data collection and the study employed the qualitative approach in research, relying on the grounded theory in its theoretical framework. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit twenty-eight (28) ordained Ministers of the Presbyterian Church who were still in active service, eight (8) retirees and five (5) top management members for an in-depth interview. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were imported into NVivo (11) for analysis of the data collected. The researcher found out that the practice of planning was greatly contingent on the type of Ordained Ministers and the monthly allowance they received. Tent Ordained Ministers who worked as professionals and performed additional Ministerial duties in the church were entitled to national pension schemes. However, Non-Tent Ministers relied on their personal savings for financial planning. Psychologically, Ministers made little preparation because of the absence of a retirement planning policy in the Church. This had therefore created anxiety and a state of uncertainty about retirement. Socially, Ministers acquired their own accommodation and invested in their children education as a form of social security. The study further found that retired Ministers had to rely on their social relations to meet their financial and social needs. The absence of such social support resulted in psychosocial and financial challenges during retirement. The study further discovered that Retired Ministers who had planned their retirement were believed to be happier and had less financial challenges. It was therefore recommended that Housing scheme should be instituted by the Church to assist Ministers to acquire their own houses before retirement. The Church must develop a policy for retirement for various workers of the Church. This is required to guide Ministers and other workers to plan and prepare for retirement. The existing Provident Fund, insurance scheme for full-time Ministers should be extended to the tent Ministers too. The Church should take the SSNIT contributions of its Ministers seriously as a way of planning for the Ministers who sacrifice their all for God’s flock. Additionally, it was recommended that there should be a scholarship package for children of Ministers who accept postings to deprive areas.