Auditor-General Reveals GH¢7.4m Paid to Four Deceased Pensioners
Audit report exposes pension system weaknesses as payments continued years after beneficiaries’ deaths
- GH¢7.4m paid to four deceased pensioners over seven years
- Auditor-General orders recovery of the irregular payments
- Audit exposes pension system weaknesses in beneficiary verification
A report by the Auditor-General has uncovered major lapses in Ghana’s public pension system, revealing that the state paid millions of cedis to bank accounts belonging to deceased pensioners over a seven-year period.
The audit found that GH¢7,494,975.34 was irregularly paid to four deceased pensioners between February 2019 and March 2026.
The payments, captured in the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana for the year ended December 31, 2025, have raised concerns over weaknesses in monitoring and verification systems within the pension administration framework.
According to the report, the payments breached Regulation 88 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), which requires timely verification of beneficiaries to prevent payments to individuals who are no longer alive.
The Auditor-General has directed the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) to recover the full amount, including interest calculated at the prevailing Bank of Ghana lending rate, from the next-of-kin who may have received or benefited from the funds.
“Any recovered funds should be paid into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana,” the report stated.
The Auditor-General further warned that legal action should be pursued against both the financial institutions involved and the next-of-kin where the funds cannot be recovered.
The latest findings add to a series of payroll-related irregularities identified in the 2025 audit, as authorities intensify efforts to reduce financial leakages and improve accountability in the management of public resources.
