Category: Pension

Former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pensioners are on a special salary structure that is better than other pensioners.

Executive Secretary (ES), Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr. Chioma Ejikeme made this known.

In a statement entitled: “Clarification on the applicability of 33 per cent pension increase to the ex-PHCN retirees”, Ejikeme said the pensioners had been enjoying this privilege before the pension review.

She said those who were in service were on one of the Harmonised Salary Structures of the Federal Public Service.

The ES was, however, surprised  by the agitation by some pensioners, who claimed that PTAD has colluded with some “powerful individuals” to deprive them of the 33 per cent increment approved by the Federal Government in 2010.

She said the retired workers  were not entitled to the increment, but that they were only trying to arm-twist the Federal Government into paying them. President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the 9.7 per cent increase for ex-PHCN retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

Mrs Ejikeme said: “The President, Muhammadu Buhari, is very committed to pensioners’ welfare and has consistently demonstrated this by approving the payment of outstanding pension arrears and regular payment of monthly pensions. But we would like to state, unequivocally, that the National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission, the Federal Government agency responsible for policy statement on emoluments, including pensions, had directed via a letter of approval Ref: SWC/S/04/S.542/26 of 26th September 2014, that the retired staff of the defunct PHCN are not entitled to the pension increase of 33 per cent.

“It should be noted that PHCN pensioners took the Federal Government to the National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja on this issue. After several engagements, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of 9.7 per cent increase in the pensions of ex-PHCN retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). This approval was used as an out-of-court settlement to end to the suit at NIC, Abuja.

“Following the approval by the President, via approval letter Ref:(SWC/S/04/S.557/III/546) of 7th May, 2021, the 9.7 per cent increment was implemented with effect from 1st June, 2016 and the arrears paid in December 2021 to eligible ex-PHCN retirees. “It is, therefore, preposterous and uncalled for that this group wants to conveniently forget the amicable agreement reached by parties and arm-twist the Federal Government to make claims on the 33 per cent pension increment.”

She further stated that other related issues as it concern this group of pensioners have since been communicated to the coordinator of the Concerned PHCN Pensioners, Mr. Dunmoye Muritala Oladimeji, via a letter dated March 17, 2021 with Ref: (PTAD/PaPD/231/VolII/263).

“PTAD will continue to give priorities to the welfare of Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners,” she added.

The net value of the nations’s pension fund assets has risen to N13.8trillion.

According to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the assets rose to N13.88 trillion in March, this year from N13.76 trillion recorded the previous month.

This is a  growth of N113.75 billion in one month.

Findings show that the growth has remained uninterrupted despite the recapitalisation ordered by the Commission on Pension  Funds Administrators (PFAs).

The exercise was completed on March 27 with PFAs capital increasing by over 500 per cent.

A breakdown of the investments shows that the PFAs invested N8.50 trillion in Federal Government’s Securities.

Of the N8.47 trillion invested in FGN Securities, FGN Bonds got the bigger chunk of N8.15 trillion  while Treasury Bills got N152 billion; Agency Bonds N13.9 billion; Sukuk N120.25 billion; State Government Securities N89 billion; and Green Bonds N63 billion.

Aside the FGN Securities where the larger chunk of the fund was invested, Local Money Market Securities got N2.24 trillion, followed by Corporate Debt Securities which got N1 trillion.

Domestic Ordinary Shares got N744.26 billion; Foreign Ordinary Shares N112.27 billion; Foreign money market N11 billion; Infrastructure Funds N75.17 billion; Commercial Papers N104.54 billion and Cash and Other Assets N472.84 billion.

Worried by the appearance of ‘ghost pensioners’ on its payroll, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has  tightened the noose on them.

It has realeased a regulation on  deceased RSA holders entitled: ‘Revised Regulation on Retirement and Terminal Benefits’.

The Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, said: “It has been observed that some RSA holders who had been reported dead and  benefits paid to their legal beneficiaries, reappear after additional amounts are remitted into their RSAs.

“The revised regulation provides that where an RSA holder is reported dead, the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) shall write to the bank of the deceased informing it of the demise. The PFA shall also advise that the deceased’s bank account/BVN be flagged off.”

Mrs. Dahir-Umar believes that this would stop such fraudulent persons from accessing financial services.

Allianz Group is accelerating the deployment of its climate strategy and has announced new commitments in its core business and operations.

The company stated that it will limit the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) deriving from Allianz’s sites and activities in over 70 markets to net-zero by 2030, instead of 2050  that it planned.

Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE, Investment Management and Sustainability, Günther Thallinger said they would limit the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) deriving from Allianz’s sites and activities in over 70 markets to net-zero by 2030, instead of the 2050 as originally planned.

According to him, for proprietary Investment and Property & Casualty (P&C) businesses, as of January 1, 2023, Allianz will no longer invest in or underwrite new single-site or stand-alone oil and selected gas risks, oil and gas activities related to the Arctic and the Antarctic or extra-heavy oil and ultra-deep-sea risks.

He said: “By the start of 2025, Allianz will require a robust ‘net-zero by 2050’ commitment from the largest hydrocarbon producers as a pre-condition for company-level insurance coverage and investments.

“In view of the geopolitical situation, the reliable energy supply for households and companies must be reprioritised in the short term. Policymakers must work together with the business community to define conditions that enable planning, and, in addition, enable the acceleration of renewables globally. However, we should not lose sight of the serious consequences of climate change. With these new guidelines, Allianz is strengthening its promise to contribute to an orderly decarbonisation of the economy.

“Allianz is committed to actively driving the transition towards renewable energy sources, supported by significant underwriting and investment capacity and appetite for renewable risks. Consequently, green energy projects of oil and gas companies will not be restricted in any way.’’

In commemoration of the Workers’ Day, Heirs Insurance Limited (HIL) has offered a wellness package for its staff, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adaobi Nwakuche, has said.

In a statement, Nwakuche said the Day presented an opportunity to celebrate the dedication of workers across the world.

She stated that the Heirs Insurance Workers’ Day was part of the company’s plan, to promote employee well-being, as well as highlight the importance of employees to the organisation’s success.

She said: “In a notice, the company appreciated staff for their dedication to customer satisfaction and business growth. We understand their hard work comes with great sacrifices and we appreciate every one of them.

“We will continue to prioritise their psychological and physical being as they are important to us,” she added.

AMODIMU: My sincerest greetings to Director-General, PenCom and other staff members. I am Famodimu, a retiree of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Very regularly in the past, my monthly pension entitlements were paid till 18 months ago when, for lack of inadequate information, I did not partake in verification excercise. Thereafter, the Chief Accountant, OAU, assited to scan  my papers directly to one Mr Kabiru of PenCom. Kindly help me.

UKEJE: My name is Ukeje. I retired from the Nigerian Customs Service in 2016. My PFA is Stanbic IBTC Pension. The Nation help me pushed for my accrued benefit and I have received credit alert from Stanbic IBTC. I urge other pensioners to continue to petronise this newspaper. I thank you so much.

UBULA: My name is UBULA. I retired from RMAFC in 2010 and started drawing my pension in 2012. My PFA is Premium Pension. My complaints are in two forms: The first is on my monthly pension, which is less than 50 per cent of my final salary. Secondly, the lump sum paid to me was meagre. Can the review of the retirement benefit by the Commission help redress my complaints?

AMENKHIENAN: Dear Omobola, my name is Amenkhienan. I retired from the Nigeria Police on October 1, 2017.  My PFA IS NPF Pension. My 2.5 per cent shortfall on pensions approved for federal retirees by President Muhammadu Buhari has not been credited into my RSA account by my PFA. There is no alert nor anything to show that the 2.5 per cent has credited into my account. Kindly help

EKPE: My name is Ekpe. I retired from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in 2015. My complaint goes thus: On August 2021, I received a message from NPF Pensions that my 2.5 per cent shortfall on pensions approved to Federal retirees by President Muhammadu Buhari was credited to my RSA a/c. I moved to my PFA (Premium) to confirm and they said nothing like that was seen in their system. They advised me to apply to NPF Pensions where I got the information for transferring the said money to my PFA. This was done on October 20, 2021 and copied Premium Pensions and PenCom for information.

To my dismay, I discovered that the money was already received by them far back July 2021. Up till this moment, nothing was heard from them concerning payment even though a template was issued by PenCom, but Premium Pensions refused to pay us. The most annoying thing is the deduction of their admin fee on receipt of this money into their system and denied us payment. They forgot that this fee is deducted monthly when pensions are paid. Kindly order Premium Pensions to refund the money no matter how small. Thank you.

CHRISTIAN: Greetings Omobola. My name is Christian. I retired from the Federal Service as a lecturer in December 31, 2019. Last November, I changed from Pal Pensions to Stanbic IBTC Pensions. Yet up to date, I have not got a kobo since retirement. Kindly help me.

LADIPO: Dear Omobola, in a report entitled: “Allow workers to use pension savings for home ownership”. you stated we should beware of selfish and destructive advice to enact a law that will allow workers who have spent 15 years in service to access their pension accounts and use such to acquire houses. The Nation, March 14, page 23 notes that the government is augmenting pension savings for aged/retired workers so that they will not to die in hunger or as paupers. Houses so acquired have tied down pension savings, and that they can easily be sold or re-purchased; while such unfortunate pensioners had been lured. What is PenCom’s position on this?

INDABAWA: Good day, my name is Indabawa. I submitted a letter of complaint to the Director-General of PenCom last February on the inconsistency in payment of my monthly pension that comes from my annuity policy. Up till date, nobody replied my letter and I am still facing the same problem. Kindly help.

THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene.Therefore, Famodimu, Ukeje, Ubula, Amenkhienan, Christian and Indabawa should look out for the newspaper next week for responses from PenCom.

China rolled out a private pension plan on April 21 to complement the nation’s system, in its latest effort to tackle the challenges of an aging population.

According to the circular, the private pension plan should be suitable for national conditions, underpinned by policies, optional for individuals, and run by the market, to form a multi-pillar old-age pension system, along with basic pension insurance and enterprise annuities.

Chinese citizens covered by basic pension insurance for urban employees or by basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents are eligible to take part.

Participants are to first have their own individual pension accounts set up, and could contribute up to 12,000 yuan (about $1,872) yearly to the accounts that would be subject to closed-end management, according to the guidelines.

The government will offer tax incentives to encourage participation in the new system, the guidelines said.

The funds in the accounts can be used to purchase financial products, savings deposits, commercial endowment insurance, public funds and more.

Pensioners are allowed to draw their money on a monthly basis, in batches, or all at once if they reach a certain age, lose the ability to work, settle abroad, or meet other corresponding requirements. In case of death, the assets left in the accounts can be passed on to heirs.

• Culled from English. Gov

THE Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) plans to launch a network for women.

The group made this known during a webinar for women.

The event featured senior executives in the industry.The panelists included Idu Okwuosa; Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Access PFC, Joy Ojakovo; General Manager, Progress Trust CPFA, Ighojovbe Oghenekaro; CEO, Agip Pensions, and CEO, UBA Pensions, Blessing Ogwu.

The female leaders spoke about challenges of being in a leadership and how professionalism, tenacity, support and continuous learning got them to where they are.

The audience, drawn from women in the industry, asked questions.

Advising young women, Idu said: “Take the highway, choose your fight and don’t let the distractions get to you and you’ll make it to the top.

“As a woman, you can’t do it alone, you need to build alliances, have a support structure to be able to grow and to lean on when need arises.’’