By OmobolaTolu-Kusimo

 

Dear Omobola Pension Solution. I am a  lawyer based in Makurdi, the Benue State.

I write on behalf of Mrs. Josephine of Gboko, Benue State. My client is the widow and next-of-kin of the late Nathaniel of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

He was born on October 4, 1960,  joined the NCS on October 5, 1991 and died Nathaniel died on October 31, 2006.

Until he death, Nathaniel was an Assistant Superintendent of Customs. After his death, my client notified his employers.

She also procured and submitted  the relevant documents to the NCS’ headquarters in Abuja to facilitate  the payment of his death benefits.

After the initial processing, the NCS forwarded my client’s application to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) for further processing and payment sometime in 2011.

PTAD advised my client to participate in a screening and verification. She complied with the instruction on August 15, 2015, following which she was assured of prompt payment of the claim.

However, my client did not hear anything from the PTAD. Consequently, she retained my service to procure or facilitate the processing and payment of the claim. I paid numerous visits to the NCS and PTAD offices in Abuja where I met with several responsible officers of both agencies. I also sought clarification from the Pension Commission of Nigeria, Abuja.

Despite sustained visits, meetings, consultations, and enquiries in person and via mobile telecoms and written letters, the authorities of PTAD did not take any positive action on my client’s claim until June 1, 2019, when I wrote a letter demanding payment for my client.

On June 10, 2019, PTAD replied, informing my client that it was not responsible for the payment of the deceased’s death benefits and further advised my client to contact the NCS, PenCom and the deceased’s PFA for the processing and payment of the claim.

My client is confused and frustrated with the procedure after more than 13 years when she commenced efforts to obtain the death benefits claim of her late husband’s service to the NCS.

Meanwhile, my client has lost the only home that her deceased husband had laboured to construct due to a fire accident a few years ago.

Read Also: Pension complaints and solutions

Mrs. Josephine is the administrator of the estate of the deceased.

Kindly help us to get clarity.

– C. V. Chia, Esq.

The Nation: The newspaper will intervene by sending your complaint to PenCom. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

Dokun: My name is Dokun, next- of-kin to the late Farinmade whose PFA is Premium Pension.

He worked at the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) from September 18, 1992 to June 11, 2010 before his death. He was on Salary Grade: GL 08/8.

I wrote to the PFA and they said ‘work-in-progress’on payment. But up till now, I am yet to get any payment from them.

Note that the last letter dated May 31, 2006 to the deceased from PenCom, following a letter written by NIPOST disclosed that  N36,485: 60 was paid into his pension account for from July 2004 to February 2006.

All documentations had been done in Abuja office of PenCom office since the death of my brother, and nothing has been heard since.

Kindly help me get my late brother’s entitlements.

PenCom: A search on the Commission’s database indicates that this is a non-existing entry. This means that no official report has been made on the deceased to the Commission. However, you are advised to return to the PFA and re-submit relevant documents for onward submission to the Commission.

Annonymous: I want to remain anonymous. My PFA is Premium Pension Limited. My problem is as follows: On September 16, 2020, I received a text message. It says: ‘Please be informed that people have received approval from PenCom regarding your pension benefit payment.Contact 09-4615700 for further information’. The next day, another text message came, stating: ‘Dear member, kindly disregard the SMS received on approval from PenCom. This was sent in error. We apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this. Please sir, who is fooling who, because the benefits are overdue for payment.

PenCom: Kindly ignore messages on pension payments, claiming they are from the Commission. PenCom does not contact individuals. Only Pension Fund Administrators are allowed to contact retirees to notify them on such related issues.

However, kindly furnish the Commission with your PIN for further investigations to be conducted.

Adigun: My name is Adigun and my PFA is First Guarantee. The issue I want to discuss affects contributory pensioners who were Osun State Government employees that retired in 2016 to date.

None of these have received either gratuity or pension since they retired. The real problem is not known as we were being fed with lies by various concerned PFAs. Kindly advise us on the way out of this predicament.

PenCom: The relevant Department would require the PIN of the complainant to assist them further.

Ocheni: Good day. My name is Ocheni. I have submitted my late father’s file to his PFA since 2018 and nothing has been paid.The family is passing through hard times. Please help me.

The Nation: The newspaper will intervene by sending your complaint to PenCom. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently  weekly for pension news.

Annonymous: Good day, Omobola. Please I need enlightenment to enable me to choose between Programme Withdrawal and Annuity. Also, I ask: How long will it take my PFA before paying me my pension?

The Nation: The newspaper will intervene by sending your complaint to PenCom. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

Atinshola: My name is Atinshola. I resigned in 2018 and 25 per cent of my balance was paid immediately and another 25 per cent, when I was 50, by Crusader Sterling Pension.

I need the pension manager to pay my balance to pay my children’s education, rents and  attend to my needs. My last employer is Sterling Bank.

The Nation: The newspaper will intervene by sending your complaint to PenCom. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently  weekly for pension news.

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Ekiti State Government has released N250 million for the payment of outstanding pensions to another set of 86 retirees in the state, the Acting Executive Secretary, Ekiti Pension Transitional Arrangement, Mr Francis Omotoso, has said.

Omotosho, who made this known in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said the amount is part of the monthly releases by the Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration for the settlement of outstanding retirement benefits for pensioners.

He added that the cash would be used to offset the outstanding balance of pension for May and June.

He said the earlier proposed scheme aimed at further paying the backlog of retirees’gratuities through a negotiated discount process had been jettisoned.

He stressed the government’s commitment to the welfare of the people, particularly the elderly who had served the state meritoriously.

Omotosho noted that the governor had promised to regularly release tranches of N250 million for payment of pensions until outstanding retirement benefits were cleared.

The state Head of Service, Mrs Peju Babafemi, advised the affected pensioners to be prudent with their resources and expend them on veritable ventures that would improve their lives.

Babafemi noted that if the pensioners  planned and managed their ventures well, it would guarantee a stable and comfortable future for them and their families.

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Ekiti chapter, Mr Joel Akinola, on his part, lauded the government for its efforts at improving the lots of pensioners in the state.

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Foreigners working in Nigeria can voluntarily participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The Nation found that the foreigners are, however, not mandated by law to participate in the scheme.

Similarly, Nigerians working abroad are not mandated by law to participate in the CPS but may voluntarily do so.

Any one who resigns from an organisation in Nigeria and takes up appointment outside the country, the National Pension Commission says, is entitled to make arrangements with the new employer to continue remitting his pension contributions into his or her RSA in Nigeria.

But if the person chooses to discontinue with the scheme in Nigeria or the new employer has an entirely different pension arrangement, he or she may access his RSA upon retirement or attaining 50, the commission noted.

Meanwhile, employees in the public service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), states, local governments and private sector organisations with three or more employees are mandated to be covered by the CPS by their employers.

Also, employees of organisations with  fewer than three employees as well as self-employed persons can voluntarily take part in the CPS under the Micro Pension Plan (MPP).

Those exempted from the scheme are judicial officers, members of the Armed Forces, the Intelligence and Secret Services of the Federation; retirees under any pension scheme existing before June 30, 2004; and employees who had three or less years to retire as at June 30, 2004.

Exxon Mobil expects to restore its contribution to the United States employee retirement savings plan this year and does not plan another major set of layoffs, Chief Executive Darren Woods told employees in a meeting.

The top U.S. oil producer last year slashed project spending and reduced output as it incurred a historic loss of $22.4 billion. Deep cuts included suspending its match for the 401(k) plan and launching job cuts to reduce its global employee and contractor headcount by about 15 per cent.

He said: “I think one quarter of positive earnings will not mean a successful year, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

“So, we’ve got a little more work to do, but I would just tell you to rest assured that restoring those benefits is an important priority that we are focused on; and when we’re confident we can do that and sustain it, we will. A large layoff is ‘not part of the plan today’,” Woods said.

• Culled from Reuters

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

The new pension Sharia Fund may be launched in the first half of the year, the President, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Mr. Wale Odutola, has said.

Odutola told The Nation that work was ongoing on the fund (PenOp), which will be Sharia compliant.

He said the Sharia Fund, which will be Fund  Six under the Multi-Fund structure introduced by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) is coming after Fund Five, the Micro Pension Scheme.

He explained that Multi-Fund structure was designed to match age and risk profile to one of four distinct Retirement Savings Account (RSA) funds.

He said: “These include three RSA Fund types for active contributors and one Retiree Fund for retired contributors. Membership of funds 1 to 3 is restricted to contributors in the formal sector only. The commission also introduced the Micro Pension Scheme fund type.

“The fund is similar to Islamic banking products in the banking industry and Takaful Insurance product in the insurance industry.

“When the fund is launched, it will be a positive development for the pension industry. There are few Muslims that are particular about how they invest and what they invest their monies into and this product woill be very good for them.

He said the investment channels have to be areas that are acceptable with their fate.”

He added that the exposure to variable income instruments under the Multi-Fund structure is the sum of a Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) investments in Ordinary Shares and participation units of Open Close-ended and Hybrid Funds; Real Estate Investment Trust; Infrastructure Funds; and Private Equity Funds comprising its holdings and any future financial commitments to the acquisition of participation units in these Funds.

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has regretted the non-payment of accrued pension rights of Federal Government employees who retired between March, last year and March, this year under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The employees are yet to receive their pensions due to the non-payment of their Accrued Pension Rights.

PenCom Director-General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar made this known during the oversight visit of the Senate Committee on Establishment & Public Services to the commission.

Appreciating the role played by this Senate Committee in the past, to move the National Assembly to intervene in the matter of payment of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government, she stated that they were yet to surmount the challenge, because pension liability is a moving target that increases monthly as federal employees retire.

She solicited the Committee’s continuous support to surmount the challenge of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government to its workers and retirees.

She said: “It is, perhaps, appropriate to highlight some of the major challenges of the commission. As you are aware, the fundamental objective of the pension reform is to ensure that every worker receives his retirement benefits as and when due. However, it is sad to report that there are a large number of Federal Government employees who retired from March 2020 to March 2021 under the CPS that are yet to receive their pensions due to non-payment of their Accrued Pension Rights. This challenge, which started in 2014, was essentially triggered by the appropriation of insufficient amounts for payment of Accrued Pension Rights of FGN retirees and further aggravated by late or non-release of full appropriated amounts.

“Other challenges include FGN’s non-compliance with the new minimum statutory rate of pension contribution of 18 per cent since 2014; non-payment of approved 15 per cent and 33 per cent pension increases to pensioners under the CPS; non-payment of shortfall for payment of full retirement benefits of retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries; and non-payment of FGN Pension Protection Levy. These have created sad and negative impression on the full realisation of the objectives of the CPS in Nigeria.

“PenCom appreciates the role played by this Senate Committee in the past, to move the National Assembly to intervene in the matter of payment of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government. However, we still have not yet surmounted this challenge, because pension liability is a moving target that increases on monthly basis as FGN employees retire. Thus, like the proverbial Oliver Twist, we would to, once again, solicit the continued support of this distinguished Senate Committee to assist the commission in surmounting this challenge of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government to its workers and retirees.”

The PenCom chief further said the complaints against certain sections of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which need amendments is another issue before the commission.

“This is normal with every new system and the experience of the CPS in Nigeria is bound to be the same. Consequently, the commission had obtained inputs from critical stakeholders and cataloged their proposed amendments of provisions of the PRA 2014.

“However, as was done in the first review exercise that birthed the present Act, it is imperative to subject the proposed amendments to extensive experts’ and stakeholders’ engagements prior to presentation to the Federal Executive Council and then National Assembly for further legislative action. We are happy to note that the Distinguished Chairman of this Senate Committee has committed to support these processes from the early stage and collaborate with the House Committee on Pensions in order to ensure a smooth and qualitive exercise.”

Speaking on the strides achieved by the commission within the 16 years of pension reform, she said the reform has been able to positively transform the sector.

She said pension fund has been invested towards developing the  economy.

“Our scorecard includes many positive feats, like the licensing of 22 PFAs, seven CPFAs, four PFCs and many Approved Existing Pension Schemes in the private sector. RSA registration has reached 9.27 million as at January 2021 and the value of accumulated pension assets has also reached N12.3 trillion as at January 2021. The fund is invested in varied but quality financial instruments, all tailored towards the development of the Nigerian economy. Furthermore, payment of pensions under the CPS is now seamless, prompt and consistent.

“In the recent years, the commission has introduced the Micro Pension Plan to enable informal sector workers participate in the CPS and also continued to empower the RSA holders by broadening their choices through Multifund Structure of pension fund investment and the opening of the RSA Transfer window. The Commission would continue to innovate in order to consolidate the gains of the pension reform in Nigeria.

“As you are aware, PenCom is a self-funded agency, run basically with Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), with little subvention from the Treasury. The operations of PenCom has been fairly smooth right from inception to date. Our supervisory activities continued to be substantially automated, thus necessitating huge investment in ICT.

“Furthermore, the nature of our regulatory and supervisory responsibilities necessitated substantial investment in our human capital in order to remain effective, competitive and relevant in a continuously changing environment. “PenCom is housed at this Head Office building, which is owned by the commission. There are also six functional zonal offices of the commission at the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, which Senators have visited few days ago,” she added.

 

Sovereign Trust Insurance (STI) Plc has recorded a leap of 37 per cent in its Profit After Tax (PAT) of N687 million.

In 2019, its profit was N503 million, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the underwriting firm, Mr. Olaotan Soyinka, has said.

Soyinka stated that the performance was coming despite the challenging operating environment that characterised operations of most businesses in the country in 2020, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lull in the sector in the year.

He said the growth in the company’s result is encouraging, considering the level of work that was put in place in 2020.

According to him, the gross premium last year stood at N11.1 billion compared to the N10.8 billion written in 2019, representing a marginal increase of two per cent.

He said another highlight of the 2020 accounts is the rise in the company’s total assets from N13.4 billion to N14.8 billion in 2020 representing 11 per cent increase.

He said: “As the company grew its balance sheet in 2020, so did it also increase its claims payout.  In 2020, a total of N3.48 billion was paid as claims against N2.2 billion that was paid in 2019. This, in a way, underscores the company’s claims paying ability coupled with the company’s renewed attention at delighting our customers.

 

The net premium income also grew by 10 per cent from N5.9 billion to N6.5 billion in 2020.

“The management of the company is committed to meeting and surpassing the expectations and aspirations of its shareholders and stakeholders alike.’’

 

These performance levels are a confirmation of the management’s determination to effectively and strategically position the company as one of the leading insurance companies in the country while at the same time, propel the company to a profitable height for shareholders’ delight in the years ahead”, he added.

 

 

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has attained ISO 27001:2013 Certification on Information Security Management System (ISMS) for its ability to manage assests’ risks, its Director-General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, has said.

The DG, in a statement, made available to The Nation, said the ISMS provides a systemic approach to manage organisation’s information assets’ risks by using well defined processes, technology and people.

According to her, the ISMS of the commission was designed to achieve the ISO 27001:2013 Standard, which is an internationally recognised set of information security standards that govern the security of information assets such as intellectual property, financial information, employee information, as well as information entrusted by third parties.

She stated that the standards are published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

She said: “The commission had been evaluated by the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB) in all core areas of its operations and its ISMS was certified to be in compliance with the ISO 27001:2013 Standard in all the core areas of its operations.

“Accordingly, the Certificate of Compliance was issued to the Commission on 8 January 2021. As the regulator of the pension industry and custodian of National Databank on pension matters in the country, this certification is an important demonstration of the commission’s commitment to the highest standards of confidentiality, integrity and availability of data on contributors, retirees and stakeholders in the pension industry.

“It is also an affirmation that the commission had put in place, business controls and management processes to safeguard its information assets from threats and vulnerabilities. It further recognised the commission’s implementation of an effective information security system that complies with one of the most stringent international standards in the identification, evaluation and effective management of the risks associated with its information assets.”