The Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI) has called on the government to introduce a comprehensive Next of Kin and Beneficiary Access Act and establish a National Beneficiary Claims Portal to simplify access to dormant financial assets and return locked funds to beneficiaries.
The proposals are contained in ILAPI’s Next of Kin Project policy brief, which argues that institutional reforms, rather than increased public spending, offer the quickest solution to helping families reclaim unclaimed assets.
The recommendations follow research indicating that more than GH₵167.8 million in dormant bank funds was transferred to the Bank of Ghana between 2016 and 2024. According to the Institute, nearly 70% of beneficiaries who attempted to recover these funds abandoned the process because of its complexity.
ILAPI’s reform agenda is built around four key areas: legal and regulatory reform, digital transformation of the claims process, public education, and stronger institutional accountability.
On the legal front, the Institute is proposing a single harmonised law to replace the existing framework governed by the Administration of Estates Act, the Wills Act, the Intestate Succession Act, the Banks and Specialized Deposit-taking Institutions Act (Act 930), and the Insurance Act.
According to ILAPI, the current legal framework leaves claimants facing “overlapping requirements” and “inconsistent procedures” across different institutions. The proposed legislation would standardise documentation requirements for claims involving bank accounts, pensions and insurance benefits while requiring financial institutions, insurers and pension administrators to proactively notify known beneficiaries within a specified period using Ghana Card data to verify deaths.
The Institute is also advocating for the Bank of Ghana to publish an annual public register of dormant accounts and unclaimed funds, maintaining that transparency is essential because “families cannot claim assets they do not know exist.”
To safeguard dormant funds, ILAPI further recommends the establishment of a dedicated Next of Kin Claims Fund to prevent unclaimed balances from being absorbed into general government revenue. It also proposes a fast-track administrative dispute resolution mechanism to help claimants avoid lengthy and expensive court proceedings.
As part of its digital transformation agenda, ILAPI is calling for Ghana Card identification to be fully integrated into customer onboarding and verification processes across all regulated financial institutions. It also wants beneficiary information securely linked to national identity systems during account registration.
The proposed National Beneficiary Claims Portal would enable citizens to determine whether deceased relatives held financial assets, submit claims electronically, upload supporting documents and monitor the progress of applications through a single platform. The system would be supported by automated verification linking the Births and Deaths Registry directly with financial institutions.
To improve accessibility, the Institute also recommends establishing a Legal Assistance for Inheritance Claims service that would provide free guidance through online support, trained paralegals and USSD services for people without smartphones or reliable internet access.
Aside from legal and technological reforms, ILAPI is urging the launch of a nationwide public education campaign to be led by the National Commission for Civic Education in collaboration with financial institutions, faith-based organisations, traditional authorities and the Institute itself. The campaign would educate the public on the importance of writing wills, naming next of kin and understanding inheritance rights.
The Institute further recommends integrating inheritance education and financial literacy into secondary school curricula as well as adult education programmes.
To strengthen oversight, ILAPI is calling on the Bank of Ghana to publish an annual Dormant Accounts and Unclaimed Funds Report detailing the number of dormant accounts received, the total value of funds held, the amounts returned to beneficiaries and outstanding claims. It also advocates regular parliamentary oversight and compliance audits of banks, insurance companies and pension administrators, with regulatory sanctions for institutions found to be obstructing legitimate claims.
ILAPI maintains that the proposed reforms require strong institutional leadership and political commitment rather than significant new public expenditure, arguing that Ghana already has the necessary legal authority and technological infrastructure, including the Ghana Card and GhanaPostGPS, to implement the recommendations.
The Institute says it will continue to advocate for improved beneficiary access through its Human Dignity and Inheritance Poverty Journal and the Next of Kin Essay Competition, to keep the issue on the national policy agenda.
