The Nation Newspaper

Category: Pension

  • NAICOM orders 17 firms to get fresh licences

    THE National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has drected 17 firms to acquire new microinsurance licences within 18 months or face sanctions.

    This followed the release of the revised microinsurance guidelines about three weeks ago.

    But some firms’chief executives are jittery over the revised guidelines, saying they would impose more costs on their businesses.

    Speaking at a seminar organised by NAICOM for reporters in Benin City, the Edo State capital, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, said the ultimatum on the guidelines, which took effect from January 1, must be complied with by the operators.

    Kari, represented by the commission’s Deputy Commissioner Technical, Sunday Thomas, said any insurance firm that fails to acquire new  licence, would have its non-life microinsurance arm wound up within 18 months while those with life classes would be  barred within 24 months and the business transferred to another firm.

    NAICOM, in section 10, sub section 1 and 2 of the revised Microinsurance guidelines released recently to the public, said: ‘’Existing conventional microinsurers shall wind down their window operations for non-life classes within 18 months from the effective date of this guidelines and in not later than 24 months transfer the life classes to a dedicated microinsurance company.”

    The guideline also states that no policy should be renewed nor new one issued with an expiry date beyond the stated date.

    ‘’By this directive, non-life conventional insurers operating microinsurance as a window operation are given till June 2018 to wind up this operation while the life operators has December 2018 as the deadline to do same,’’ it stated.

  •  Pension complaints and solutions

    EBONG: Dear Madam1, your column in The Nation of every Wednesday is really assisting pensioners.

    My name is Ebong. I attended a verification in Uyo Akwa Ibom State on February 7, 2017. My complaints are: the non-harmonisation and short-payment of my pensions.  I submitted all the required documents for scanning. Please  help me so that my arrears can be paid to enable me cope in this recession. My pension is not paid up to date. Thank you.

    PTAD: Your monthly pension has been harmonised and we recently paid six months of 33 per cent  arrears; the balance of 12 months will be paid subject to availability of funds.

    ANNONYMOUS: I am a retired 63-year-old military pensioner. I am sending this text in respect of Akinsoto’s comment in The Nation of Friday, June 2, 2017 (page 46) with the title: Pension complaints and solution.

    Akinsoto, also a NIPOST pensioner, emphasised that our military and para-military colleagues were paid their 33 per cent increment arrears at once not in dribs and drabs like that of NIPOST workers.

    I want Akinsoto to know that it is not true that Military Pensions Board paid our 33 per cent at once. Of the 53 per cent that we are being owed, 33 per cent arrears was paid to us in two quarterly payments as at 2015.

    The payment, according to the government, is expected to be completed this year. For God’s sake, a person who is expecting to be paid N276,000 at once is being paid twice quarterly. Can the money execute a reasonable project? What kind of country are we in? I have never seen where arrears are paid quarterly. We kept sending text messages to the Military Pension Board asking questions but yet no response. We served our country  faithfully. At the moment, we do not have the strength to till the soil. We are getting frustrated, but we believe that God will intervene in our case and all our entitlements will be paid at once.

    PTAD:The pensioner is a Military pensioner and not a pensioner eligible under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). With regards to the 33 per cent pension arrears, the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate recently paid an instalment owed to some of its pensioners. The categories affected are Police, Civil Service and Parastatal Pensioners. All pensioners under the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensions Department had already been paid the 33 per cent arrears in full since September 2016. The latest payment was made from the Service Wide Vote released two weeks ago by the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF). PTAD assures that all outstanding arrears of the 33 per cent increment will be settled as soon as additional releases are made.

    MAYALEEKE: My name is Mayaleeke. My friend, Folajuwon, and I have the same problem. My federal pension under the old scheme has been stopped since June 2010. I received my last pension under the old scheme from the Federal Government in May 2010. They paid me N8,748,90 monthly without any increment of the past years. All effort so far has failed. Kindly help.

    PTAD: Mr. Folajuwon and Mr. Mayaleeke should forward their verification print-out and bank-statements from Januray 2010 to Date to enable us ascertain their claim.

    ADACHI: I am Solomon Adachi. My dad died in 2007 while with the Nigerian Police Force. I was verified since 2014 but up till now, I have not been paid.

    PTAD: Mr. Adachi should please visit our Head Office for the Next-of-Kin interview.

    MRS OLUYEMISI: My name is Mrs Oluyemisi, from Osun State. I retired in July 2015. I am yet to be paid my benefits. My question is: with two years’salary arrears, is it going to be deducted from the lump sum to be giving to us by our PFA.

    PENCOM: Good day, Ma’am. Please give us more details to enable us to assist you. May we ask: What kind of arrears do you mean? Promotion salary arrears or arrears accumulated due to unpaid salaries? Also provide us with details of your place of employment, PIN and PFA. Thank you.

    A NNONYMOUS: I have double PIN number. What can I do?

    PENCOM: Good day, Madam, Please write to the National Pension Commission, Plot 174 Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja.  Make sure you attach evidence of your registration with both the Pension Fund Administrators. Thank you.

    ANNONYMOUS: Please we eed help. Some of us retired from the federal civil service between 2013 and 2017. We have not received any pension or gratuity since then. Some of us have died of frustration, while others are sick. We don’t have proper food to eat and we cannot send our children to school and meet other basic needs of life. Thanks. I want to remain anonymous.

    PENCOM: Sir, provide us with your PIN, place of employment, dates of employment and retirement to enable us to ascertain the status of your benefits. Thank you.

     

  • Anchor Insurance gets acting managing director

    Anchor Insurance Limited has announced the appointment of Nsimah Jeremiah as the Acting Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer with effect from December 15, 2017.

    A statement by Head, Brand and Corporate Communications, Jamiu Osoba said the appointment is in line with the company’s approved succession plan.

    He stated that the appointment also follows the retirement of the former Managing Director of the company, Mayowa Adeduro who served for the maximum of 10 years and in compliance with the code of corporate governance directives of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

    He said: “Prior to the appointment of Jeremiah as the Acting Managing Director, he was the Executive Director; Technical of the company. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Ambrose Alli University and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Lagos.

    “Nsimah Jeremiah is also a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (FCIIN), Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration and Associate Member of Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered). He started his Insurance career with Manilla Insurance Company Limited in Calabar, Cross River State and later joined Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation in 1990; and worked in various technical departments for over 17 years including management of WAICA Reinsurance Pool.

    “While in Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, he was extensively exposed to the rudiments of global Insurance and Reinsurance practice including Africa, Asia and Middle East.

    Mr. Jeremiah has presented several papers and he is a resource person for the development of Insurance professionals in Nigeria”, he added.

     

  • PTAD explains delay in pension payment

    Delays in pension payments are due to technical hitches, scheduling of payments in the Office of the Accountant General and delay of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs Sharon Ikeazor has said.

    The Executive Secretary in a statement issued by the Directorate on the ongoing verification exercise billed to end next week, stated that all pensioners that have been verified and certified okay will receive their pension.

    She said that she raised the issue with the accountant general to ensure pensioners are given priority when funds are available.

    She stressed that they are always improving their service to pensioners and would continue to serve them well.

    She said: “Due to complaints about late payments, we seek to explain our payment process to all pensioners. Payrolls are prepared and sent to the Executive Secretary on or before 15th of every month for approval.

    “After approval, payroll is uploaded unto GIFMIS (payment platform managed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation) subject to release of funds. Payments are finalised on the GIFMIS platform subject to cash backing from the CBN after which the CBN releases payments entitlements directly into pensioners account.”

    Ikeazor warned pensioners to beware of pension fraudsters, noting that PTAD will never request for cash to process their pension.

    The general public is warned not to be misled by the fraudulent activities of pension scammers who call pensioners to request for processing fees, and or cash to fast track their complaints for payment of outstanding entitlements, she added.

  • Workers’ effectiveness crucial to Lagos transformation, says Ambode

    It is important for the Lagos State Civil Service to be as effective and  productive as it can be, much more than ever before, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He said this is because  his administration has gone to implement, on the largest scale imaginable, series of programmes that are designed to transform state for the better.

    The governor, represented by Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola, Benson, spoke at the opening session of a training programme Tagged: Management And Execution Of Projects organised by the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) held in Lagos.

    He said, as we all know, in order to execute these programmes, the input and support of the civil service is required, thus the need for the state to continue to train officers of the civil service.

    He added that the training which is designed to ensure that officers of the civil service are effectively managing their time and are being productive is  very important.

    He said: “Good time management enables people to work smarter, not harder so that they get more done in less time, even when time is tight and pressures are high. Failing to manage time damages effectiveness and causes stress. The focus of this training is the management and execution of projects.Project management includes identifying requirements, establishing clear and achievable objectives, balancing the competing demands from the different stakeholders and ensuring that a commonality of purpose is achieved.

    “It is clear that unless there is a structured and scientific approach to the practice of management, organisations would find themselves adrift and hence would be unable to meet the  challenges that the modern era throws at them. Hence, the importance of project management to organisations.

  • Pension complaints and solutions

    DIOKA: Dear Omobola, my old mother, Elizabeth, who retired as a primary school teacher in 1984 (Imo State), is paid a monthly pension of less than N3000.  Can you believe it? What can N3000 purchase in today Nigeria? The pension is not even regular. It sometimes comes only when the Paris Club Fund is paid to states. Please help press on the government  to do a comprehensive review of the pension law, especially to make state governments set up pension commissions in their states. Thank you. Chukwuma Dioka, Imo State.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently, every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

     Okimba: Dear Omobola, my father died on July 10, 2005. He served last at the Police Mobile Force 26 Uyo as a police inspector. His name is Okimba. I did all that was required  for his gratuity to be paid in 2006, but response proved abortive. Later in March 2015, I attended the second police pension verification exercise and did image capturing at PTAD Maitama, Abuja, where all necessary documents were successfully submitted as required by screening committee as the next of kin. But up till date no payment. Please help me out of this distress situation.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

    OWARI: I am an aggrieved man. I retired from paramilitary custom marine department. I was employed in November 27, 1974 and retired in January 1, 2004. I am sending this short message to remind the PTAD of the non-payment of my pension. My complain is that since January 1, 2004 till date my pension subsistence allowance from the sinking fund, both arrears and regular monthly payment, has not yet being paid to me. I have been verified and captured on April 14,  2014 at (CIPO) Gwagwalada Abuja and was issued my capturing number. Since then nothing has been done till date. Besides, I was also verified and captured at pension transitional arrangement directorate, where I was also issued with pensioner’s verification acknowledgement form of personal data pensioner number. Please help me. I need my entitlements.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

    RUMIN: My complaints is non-payment of my late father’s gratuity from police pension. I am the son and next of kin to the late Inspector Akpagher, who died in June 2005. Since then I have not received a kobo as his pension benefits. I followed the due process by attending all verification exercises where I provided all documents and information necessary, but I am yet to receive my late father’s gratuity. I am, therefore, appealing  to the authority concerned to consider my plight and assist me to receive my late father’s gratuity.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

    ADEGOKE: Dear omobola, my name is Adegoke. I retired from Customs in 2007. I want to know when pension issue of 20.37 per cent being the balance of 53.37 per cent of 2010 pension increase arrears from July 2010 to date will be addressed and cleared. Arrears of 33 per cent out of the 53.37 per cent pension increase of July 2010 has been defrayed by the PTAD in year 2016. Leaving the balance of 20.37 per cent arrears from July 2010 to date unpaid. What is  responsible for the non-payment? Could it be as a result of budgetary constraints? What has scaled down to pensioners disadvantage the year 2010 pension increase from 53.37 per cent to 33 per cent? Has the arrangement reached advance stage towards payment of the 20.37 per cent arrears and when will it be paid? Please PTAD pay pensioners this arrears of 20.37 per cent from July 2010 to date to put smile on our faces or explain lucidly the true and proper position of  this matter to us. Thanks.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

    IGBO: I retired in 1994. My Federal pension as at October 2010 was N13, 866. It was cut down to N4,164.00 after a lump sum payment of N309,000 in December 2012. My pension complaint appeared in The Nation newspaper. Wednesday 13/12/2017. I have made the documents you requested available to the commission more than 10 times. I have made two personal representations at the commission. I was not told what was wrong only to wait since 2010. I was present at the verification exercise here in Owerri, Imo State in 2015, yet I continue to cry as the delay continues and I continue to suffer. The documents are all there in your office.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

    BABATUNDE: My name is Babatunde, I retired from NIPOST in July 23, 2005. My contribution in the Contributory Scheme is up to N46,338.92  of which I have applied for, up till now, I am yet to be paid. My pay slips photocopies were forwarded to the PTAD in Abuja.

    THE NATION: The newspaper will intervene. Do await response from PTAD. Watch out for the newspaper next week for your response and subsequently every Wednesday as we update you with pension news.

  • Premium Pension appoints new directors

    The Board of Premium Pension Limited has appointed Mr. Kabir Ahmed Tijjani as an Executive Director, and Mr. Lamido Yuguda as Non-Executive Director.

    In a release in Lagos, an official at the firm’s Corporate Communications , Aliyu Ali,  said the appointments are expected to enhance robust business development by the company.

    Mr. Tijjani has been with Premium Pension Limited since its inception in 2005 as a management staff. As a seasoned corporate lawyer, he served the company first as Secretary and head of Legal Services department. He played a pivotal role in developing various structures and policies that guide the conduct and affairs of the Board and management.

    Until his latest appointment,  Tijjani served as the company’s pioneer Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), where he was saddled with the responsibility of facilitating the business development functions, customer base growth and branch offices supervision.

    Prior to joining the company, Mr. Tijjani had a stint with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as an Inspector of Taxes. He later joined the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) as a Senior Legal Officer, where he rose to the position of zonal Legal Adviser and Head of Legal department at the central headquarters of the company.

    Mr. Tijjani is an alumnus of Lagos Business School (LBS), Howard University Washington DC, National University of Singapore and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He attended several professional courses, seminars and workshops on corporate legal practice, telecommunications, pension matters, information communication technology and finance within and outside Nigeria.

    Mr. Tijjani is a certified IT Manager in the United States, member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as well as Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).

    Similarly, Mr. Yuguda brings to the Board more than three decades of experience as a central banker, economist and investment manager. He began his career with the CBN as a Senior Supervisor, Foreign Operations in 1984 with responsibility for maintaining Nigeria’s external debt records. He reached the pinnacle of his career at the CBN as Director, Reserve Management, where he inculcated a strong risk-aware investment culture and engendered a disciplined approach to investment evaluation. He retired voluntarily in 2016.

    Mr. Yuguda graduated with a BSc. Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1983 and obtained M.Sc in Money, Banking & Finance in 1991 from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He also holds a certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the Swiss Finance Institute, Geneva, Switzerland.

    He is a distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and CFA Charter holder.

  • Lagos keen on delivering value to residents

    Lagos State is keen to produce impactful, influential, and inspirational leaders in its public servants to deliver value for the people of this state, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He spoke at a training for senior civil servants on the topic, “Leadership And Management Training For Senior Civil Servants” in the state.

    The Governor, who was represented by Commissioner for Establishments, Training, and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said the primary duty of public servants is to deliver value for the people of the state.

    He said his administration has been approving trainings for the benefits of the critical and invaluable human resources in charge of the institutions of the public service.

    He hoped the training would further the monumental task of transforming the senior civil servants into impactful, influential and productive officers to such degrees that the output of the public service will inspire the good people of Lagos State.

    “My administration fully recognises the enormous value that knowledge and soft skills training bring to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the public service.

    “Also, the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions has always been in the vanguard of advocating for the institutionalisation of essential training programmes that benefit the most strategically-placed officers in the public service.

    “Indeed, it is a truism that high performances have been known to increase in organisations that expose their human capital to leadership development through training programmes of this nature. The need for ensuring and assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions has never been greater than now,” he said.

    In a dynamic age of constant changes, it is widely agreed that institutions must have clearly-defined missions that are relevant to the needs and aspirations of its stakeholders. “Following this, the human capital at the helm of leadership in these institutions must have the courage to envision a future that realises the attainment of the defined mission of the institutions.

    “I fully agree that only strong and trained leaders can envision the right and appropriate future for organisations. Where leaders do not possess the attitude, aptitude and skills that are relevant for the times, they become fundamentally flawed in any attempt to craft a beneficial and compelling vision for their organisations. And, as we all know, in the absence of vision, the people perish as the institutions become rudderless and their journey becomes one without a map.

    “The Lagos State civil service has always been in the forefront of innovation and dynamic effectiveness in the country.

    The  primary duty of public servants is to deliver value for the people of this state. My administration is irreversibly committed to enlarging and expanding the scope of trainings for the people who can help deliver this value,” he noted.

  • NSITF transfers N37.6m to 788 beneficiaries

    About N37.69 million pension contributions, belonging to 788 beneficiaries’ Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) holders as at quarter 3, 2016, has been transferred to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    What this means is that RSA holders can now have their pension fund, previously managed by the NSITF,  managed by their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    The transfered fund was revealed in a report released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to newsmen in Lagos.

    The report read: “The Commission continued the supervision of the transfer of NSITF contributions into beneficiaries’ RSAs during the quarter under review. In this regard, Eight hundred and nine (809) applications were received for the transfer of the total sum of N39.18 million into RSAs of NSITF beneficiaries.

    “The Commission processed 788 applications worth about N37.69 million. Thirty seven (37) applications for the transfer of N921.06 thousand were rejected due to incomplete documentations.”

    Concerning the update on issuance of Compliance Certificates by the private sector, the report said the Commission issued 3,3374 certificates to various organisations.

    “During the quarter under review, the Commission received a total of 3,475 applications for issuance of Compliance Certificates.

    “Out of this figure, compliance certificates were issued to 3,374 organisations while applications from 101 were turned down due to incomplete documentations. The sum of N12.19 billion was remitted by the 3,374 organisations that were issued certificates,”it added.

  • Premium Pension gets new MD

    Premium Pension Limited has appointed  Umar Mairami as the new Managing Director.

    In a statement by an official of the Corporate Communication Department and signed by Aliyu Ali, the company said Mairami succeeds Wilson Ideva who formally retired from the company.

    The statement read: “Mairami is a seasoned banker of repute, a distinguished member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). He began his career with the then Habib Nigeria Bank Limited as a Trainee Officer of the Yola branch of the bank. As a professional, Mairami joined the then Intercity Bank Plc in 1999 where he served as an Executive Assistant to the Managing Director. He acquired experience having traversed and headed major strategic core banking groups which comprised Corporate Planning; Corporate Promotions; Credit Administration; Training and other aspects of banking covering Credit Management, Relationship and Branch Management as well as Branch Coordination at the bank’s Head Office.

    “He also served as Deputy General Manager, Group Head Corporate Services covering, Human Resources, Administration, Financial Control and Information Technology departments.

    As a result of the banking reforms of 2004 which ensued fusing of Intercity Bank with eight other banks to form Unity Bank, Mairami was appointed as the bank’s pioneer head of Human Capital Management department. He was also head of Asset Management Committee and subsequently resigned as Head of Operations of the bank’’.

    During his maiden briefing to the members of staff at his assumption of office, Mairami said, during his tenure, the company will be more customer centric in alignment with the vision and mission of the company.

    “We will stay close to our customers and do everything possible to serve them properly, our Customers will be at the beginning, the middle and end of our strategy”.  The new CEO further reiterated the commitment of the management to pay particular attention to capacity development to ensure that PPL staff remain professional.

    “Until his current appointment, he was an Executive Director Business Development and Investment with Legacy Pension Managers Limited.  In the course of his illustrious banking career spanning over two 20 years, he attended several local and international training programs and Business schools across the globe. He was a member of the Education Committee of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria as well as Director of Northlink Insurance Brokers Limited.