ENDING FAMILY POVERTY: UNLOCKING THE FUNDS OF THE DECEASEDBY BENEFICIARIES AND NEXT OF KIN

Administrative bottlenecks and unclear documentations for Beneficiaries and Next of Kin to access locked funds of deceased relatives at the banks, insurance, and pension firms have crippled families, children and spouses, leading to family poverty. The cost and web of regulatory demands required to unlock the funds could take months and years. State regulators and other institutions hide behind the web of laws and incomplete information requested by the service providers (Banks, Insurance and Pension firms) when completing the account opening forms or subscribing to insurance policies and pension schemes, to keep the funds of deceased family members. The Policy brief highlights the red tapes and administrative barriers militating families from access the funds. It also provides information on how the administrative bottlenecks are constantly pushing people into poverty in Ghana. Finally, the paper proposes for fewer regulatory laws and harmonized administrative procedures to help families access the funds of their deceased loved ones to end family poverty.