The Nation Newspaper

Category: Pension

  • IEI-Anchor Pensions fund assets hit N55b

    IEI-Anchor Pensions fund assets hit N55b

    The pension fund assets of IEI-Anchor Pensions Limited have grown to N55 billion with a retirement Savings Account (RSA) client size of over 90,000, its Managing Director, Glory Etaduovie, has said.

    Etaduovie, who made this known at a briefing, said the company, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), was set to take its fair share of the N5.7 trillion pension industry backed strongly by its effective and efficient service delivery.

    He said the company also focuses on ICT to drive further growth and improvement. He pointed out that the competition in the pension industry has indeed led to deeper soul searching, noting that the company’s size makes them nimble and smartly responsive.

    He said: “The customer remains the ultimate and determinant of direction of any form of competition. Our size makes us nimble and smartly responsive. This is one advantage we wield. Everyone gets deserved attention. This we pursue to achieve through training and retraining of staff. An informed and engaged staff is a real asset.

    “We have good presence in many states. The market presently has two major strata – private and public sectors. The public sector includes the states and federal. Not many states have latched on to the Contributory Pension Scheme, though. We are also positioning in areas with strong potentials.

    “We have about N55 billion pension assets and our RSA client size is over 90,000. Our growth pace is faster now as we gain more ground. Investment wise, the regulator, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) plays a key role. We have major investment guidelines. This ensures relative fund safety. This is the future of many people so there is no room for unnecessary adventure. However, the market presents good opportunities and initiatives – a good blend of Bonds, Treasury Bills, Money market and other safe investments. Private Equity and Infrastructure development are new areas of gradual action.

  • AIICO Pension unveils Joke Silva as brand ambassador

    AIICO Pension unveils Joke Silva as brand ambassador

    •Marks 10th anniversary

    AIICO Pension Managers Limited (APML) has unveiled star actress, Ms Joke Silva as its brand ambassador.

    This is coming just as the company marked its 10th anniversary and also launched its Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR) project.

    The Head, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications, Tunde Ottun in a statement said the partnership with Ms. Silva was strategic to promote the AIICO Pension brand and greatly improve public acceptance of retirement planning and pension in general.

    He said: “A giant stride in the direction of realizing our vision was made with the recent signing of Ms. Joke Silva, an actress, producer and TV personality, as a Brand Ambassador. Our decision to partner with a brand ambassador was also predicated on the need to infuse ‘colour’ to the ongoing discussions around retirement planning, in order to ramp up public appeal. Hence, Ms. Silva, being a well-known and respected member of the Nigerian entertainment industry was one of the first names that came to our minds.

    “We have no doubt that she will be a perfect fit and we are glad she accepted to partner with our company on our quest to secure the inclusion of more Nigerians under the Contributory Pension Scheme,  especially in the drive to expand pension coverage to the informal sector.”

    In a similar development, the company as a way of giving back to the society undertook some renovation work at the Old People’s Home Yaba, Lagos.

    According to him, it also formed part of the activities to commemorate the company’s 10th anniversary.

    “We wanted to celebrate the occasion of the anniversary with senior citizens. So we decided to identify an Old People’s Home, undertake selected projects on their wish list and celebrate with them at the unveiling ceremony,” he added.

  • Kwara pensioners lament govt’s inability to pay

    Kwara pensioners lament govt’s inability to pay

    •’Govt to pay arrears’

    Kwara State Local Government pensioners are distressed over the non-payment of their pension and gratuities running into billions of naira.

    The 4000 pensioners are being owed 30 months of pension, while some of their members that retired since November 2008 have not been paid their gratuities.

    The Secretary Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Kwara State branch,  Chief Samuel Ibidoja, told The Nation that majority of the pensioners , some of who are  federal pensioners and retired primary school teachers, are also being owed monthly pension since November 2012.

    He said the pensioners were struggling to survive because of the government’s inability to pay their pensions promptly.

    He said: “Federal and state pensioners with federal share received their July pension as at July 28 this year while they are still expecting from the state government. Majority of them are owed since November 2012. The problem started in December 2012 and in trying to solve the problem they stopped their pension completely.

    “But they later started paying in bits. They paid 50 per cent in one month and 60 per cent in another month leading to outstanding balance. Those who retired in 2008 have not received their gratuity while those who retired since 1996 have been paid.”

    But the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication to Kwara State Governor, Dr Muyideen Oluwakorede said the state has been paying pensioners in bits as a result of the drop in the state’s monthly allocation.

    He explained that the decision to prorate their pensions was taken at the meeting which comprise the Commissioner for Finance, the Accountant-General, all the 16 council chairmen or their representatives and treasurers, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) members.

    He said local governments suffered a drop from N2.7 billion monthly to about N809 million in May and N1billion last June.

    He said the teachers had been put on first line charge,  noting that the teachers’ salaries had become a challenge as primary school and JSS teachers’ salaries  stood at about N1.2 billion monthly.

  • Trustfund urges employers on remittances

    Trustfund Pension Plc has called on employers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to remit pension contributions promptly to avoid loss of investment income on their employees’ pension fund.

    Its Regional Manager, Obafemi Arobadi, spoke at Trustfund Pension/Zenith Pensions Custodian’s Employers Forum.

    Arobadi said the company trains employers yearly on pensions to enable them be aware of what is expected of them.

    He said they discovered that there were issues at the inception of joining the scheme that disrupt retirees’ payment of benefits after retirement.

    He said: “Having discovered these issues, what we are doing is to mitigate against such issues coming up at the time the employees will be applying for their benefits. So, we regularly update them of recent trends with regards to responsibility to their employees and our responsibility to them as employers.

    “Part of the issues has to do with missing months of pension contribution, non-remittance of pension among others. We discovered that some pin numbers used to pay some employees are wrong leading to the payment not reflecting and if not addressed creates problems when the employee comes in to apply for his benefit.

    “We expect that at the end of the day, we want to see a smooth transaction that flows without any hitch. We want to see our customers apply for their benefits without any delay and get alert as at when due. We want to see them happy after retirement.”

  • ‘Lack of funding threatening CPS’

    ‘Lack of funding threatening CPS’

    Funding pitfalls that affected the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) may threaten the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) if the Federal Government does not pay accrued pension rights, experts have said.

    They spoke at the 2015 Nigerian Insurance and Pension Awards organised by Inspenonline in Lagos.

    The experts condemned a situation where  state governments and the private sector do not remit or contribute to the Scheme as expected.

    According to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), from 2014 to date, there has been a decline in budgetary provision in funding the Retirement Benefit Bonds Redemption Fund (RBBF) account and the remittance of monthly contribution. The sum of N20.07 billion is required to pay outstanding accrued benefits to deceased and mandatory retirees of the Federal Government for October to December, last year, and N79.16 billion has been computed as the arrears of 15 per cent pension increase owed to 79,961 Federal Government retirees under the CPS as at December 2014.

    PenCom noted that N50.20 billion was provided for this year’s FGN Budgetary Appropriation for the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF) Account presented to the National Assembly, compared to the Commission’s projection of N91.91 billion,  a shortfall of N41.71 billion.

    A former Pencom director, Ivor Takor, asked the Federal Government to show will to implement the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

    He said that the government’s inability to fund pension accrued rights was seriously affecting the payment of pensions as at when due.

    He however urged the government to increase the monthly pension remittances from 15 per cent of the workers’ total emolument to 18 per cent as stipulated in the Act.

    He said it was important for the state governments to pay the salaries of their workers regularly because if it was not consistent, it would not be possible for them to remit the workers’contributions to the pension fund.

    He said: “The Federal Government should show moral and political will in complying with the provisions of the Pension Reforms Act 2014. They should commence the implementation of the increase in pension contribution from 15 per cent to 18 per cent.

    “It is saddening that some states have failed to embrace the CPS aside the Lagos State that is faithfully remitting employees’ contributions as stipulated by law. The greatest problem lies with the state.

    “PenCom said only 10 states have keyed into the CPS, but if you look critically, it is only Lagos State that is somehow implementing the new pension scheme. Yes, the states have commissions, bureaus and laws, but are they contributing as and when due?

    “The situation is that majority of the states don’t have laws. This means the workers have no form of pensions. If they can’t set out fund, they can’t pay salaries, how will they pay pensioners? That is the situation that needs to be addressed holistically and it’s unfortunate that some of these governors left office and made some segmented pension laws that only cover them and their office holders, some of them drawing massively in the name of pension to build houses and cars and did not make laws for the state workers. This is very bad, it’s immoral and it should be addressed by governors,” he said.

    Director-General, Ondo  State Pension Commission, Jaiyeola Olowosuko, said the funding challenge was affecting the success of the Scheme.

    He is worried that just like the DBS, the CPS is also witnessing funding problems.

  • Dankwambo to lead CPS’ implementation

    GOMBE State will to lead the implementation of  Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the Northeast, its Governor  Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, has said.

    He made this known during the opening of the North-east Zonal Office of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) in Gombe.

    The Governor said as a first step, he would take the lead by making the CPS operational in the state  as soon as possible.

    He stressed that efforts were in top gear to advance the implementation of the CPS in the state, in spite of enormous economic and political challenges.

    He urged other governors to follow suit, noting that Gombe has been in the forefront of advancing the welfare of its senior citizens who have served the nation diligently in various capacities, during their working lives.

    He said pension administration has experienced and continues to experience challenges, especially in the public sector.

    The most compelling of these challenges, he said, was the inability of successive administrations to pay retirees their benefits promptly.

    He said: “The commitment of Gombe State in providing a comprehensive solution to the problems of pension administration was best exhibited with the enactment of the Gombe State Contributory Pension Scheme Law 2014. Reflecting on this feat, the state remains elated at having legislated in the right direction towards bringing joy to people at retirement. Efforts are in top gear to further advance the implementation of the CPS in the state, in spite of enormous economic and political challenges.

  • Oak Pension grows pension assets to N48.5b

    Oak Pension grows pension assets to N48.5b

    Oak Pensions Limited has increased its pension assets by 24.27 per cent to N48.5 billion. It was N39 billion in the previous year, its Chairman, Awa Ibraheem has said.

    Speaking during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, he said N2.78 billion was paid out as benefits to 1,800 Retirement Saving Account (RSA) holders, 254 death benefit, 70 programmed withdrawal, 912 enbloc payment, 471 annuity transferred, 85 and voluntary contribution, under the scheme  in 2015.

    He said the company recorded a profit before tax of N154 million, which represents an increase of 72.54 per cent from N89,282,377 recorded by December 31, 2014. Gross earnings grew by 21.94 per cent to N783 million when compared to N642 million in the same period under review.

    He said shareholders’ funds stood at N1.22 billion, a rise of 11.94 per cent compared to N1 billion recorded as at December 31, 2014.

    He said: “Total expenses rose by 13.37 per cent to N629 million from N552 million recorded in the previous year. The rise was partly due to staffing of the Head Office as well as provisions for state offices

    “The fixed assets as at end of the year stood at N567 million while statutory cash reserve stood at N36.1 million, a rise of 82.24 per cent when compared to N19.8 million for the previous year ending.’’

    He added: “During the period under review, Oak Pensions forged a path despite the challenging operating environment. We plan to strengthen our operational efficiency by exposing the employees to appropriate training and hiring new hands, where vacancies exist as well as deploying more advanced ICT equipment and software. We expect these plans to ultimately lead to the maximisation of returns on investment and creation of significant value for all stakeholders in the year.’’

  • Why savings in your pension pot’ll rise or fall

    Why savings in your pension pot’ll rise or fall

    Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have said contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) will experience an increase or decrease in their pension pot when the pension manager buys and sells or invests in several allowable assets classes, such as equities, government securities (FGN bonds and Treasury bills), corporate bonds and alternative assets such as private equities.

    A pension pot is the total amount that a person has saved into contribution pension scheme. The size of a pension pot will depend on how much money has been contributed, how well the funds were invested, and how high the fees were that the investment manager charged for its services.

    In other words, the returns on pension savings are a function of the performance of the markets in which their assets are invested.

    Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) President, Longe Eguarekhide said the positive side of the CPS is the transparency, diligence and tangible value creation that it provides to contributors.

    He said the same is reflected on the retiree accounts for those that have opted for Pogrammed Withdrawal for the payment of their benefits.

    He said: “The return generated by the pension funds is simply a reflection of the performance of the financial markets in general, and the strategy of the Fund manager in particular.

    “The year has been a challenging year as money market and bond rates have been quite volatile in the case of the bond yields and equity prices and low in the case of money market rates.  But all that has begun to pick up now.  We are beginning to witness interest rates in excess of 16 per cent per annum for 90-day placements as we witnessed for approximately three quarters of 2015.

    “The situation is likely to be sustained at least to the end of quarter three 2016 due to the increase in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) effected by the CBN last week from 12 per cent to 14 per cent. This is what translates into the return performance of the Funds the pension managers oversee.”

    Head of Compliance, Stanbic IBTC Pension Limited, Mrs Idu Okwuosa explained that the returns on pension savings are a function of the performance of the markets in which their assets are invested.

    “The returns on pension savings are a function of the performance of the markets in which their assets are invested. The Investment Guidelines of the National Pension Commission indicates maximum exposures to several allowable assets classes such as equities, government securities (FGN bonds and Treasury bills), corporate bonds and alternative assets such as private equities. Note that PFA’s are free based on their expertise and expectations to invest within these limits amongst others”, She said.

  • Union empowers women pensioners

    The National Union of Pensioners(NUP), Electricity Sector, has said empowering  women pensioners is vital to a fulfilled life after retirement.

    Its President, Comrade Temple Ubaniho, spoke during a capacity building workshop for women pensioners at Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State.

    He said it is part of the union’s plan to train the women to drive the union, adding that the men too would benefit from the training.

    He said before 2012, when he decided to encourage women to  participate in the activities of the union, they were not performing as much as was expected.

    He said: “Before 2012 when I decided to bring in the women to fully participate in the activities of the union, they were not performing as much as one would expect. But I brought them on board to participate actively in our activities in 2012.

    “We believe so much in exposing our leadership at various levels to trainings. It is for the women to remain focused and be able to participate in the union’s vision and mission for the betterment of members all over the country.

    “We have come a long way in fighting for our rights as pensioners. Our employer, the Federal Government has deem it fit to pay our monthly pensions as at when due. But we were able to achieve this feat through constant negotiation and dialogue with the government”, he said.

  • Returns on savings excite RSAs

    Returns on savings excite RSAs

    PensionERS under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are excited over the return on their savings.

    Under the Pension Reform Act 2014, they referred  to as Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.

    An RSA, who simply identified himself as Korede, said despite withdrawing 25 per cent of his pension after he lost his job last September, his pension fund administrator (PFA)  has almost returned the money he withdrew 10 months after.

    He said: “I received 25 per cent of my pension balance in September last year from my PFA. Before I lost my job, I had N5.8 million as my pension balance. I received N1.37 million in September and my balance went down to N4.4 million.

    ‘’To my greatest surprise, in an SMS sent to me by my PFA for June this year balance showed that my pension had grown to N4.7 million in just 10 months. This shoed that my pension balance has increased by N300,000 representing a 6.8 per cent growth.

    ‘’I am amazed at this increase in my balance because I don’t think any bank in Nigeria today can pay me N300,000 as interest on N4.4 million in 10 months.”

    Another RSA, Francis, who lost his job three years ago, said he was paid N730, 000 as 25 per cent of his pension balance, but the amount in his balance has grown to N500, 000 as at June.

    “I lost my job in February 2013 and had N2.93 million in my pension account. Six months after, I requested for 25 per cent of my balance from my PFA. I was paid N730, 000, thus I had N2.2 million as at August of the same year. I was surprised when I received SMS from my PFA that my pension balance is now N2.7 million.

    “This means that my pension has grown by N500, 000 or 22.7 per cent in three years. It also means that my PFA has accumulated almost the 25 per cent that I received when I was out of job.’’

    Mrs. Folashade, a civil servant with Lagos State public service, said her pension has been growing since she came under the CPS about 10 years ago.

    She said she had worked for 25 years, but wished she had joined the scheme when she started work.

    Reacting to the expressions of the RSAs, Head Customer Unit, Crusader Pension Ltd, Femi Odukoya, said it was no surprise that returns on pension savings were huge as stated by the RSAs.

    “It simply goes to affirm the beauty of the new defined contributory scheme as enunciated in the PRA 2014 (as amended) and other regulations released by the National Pensions Commission (PenCom).

    “The investment of the Funds are  regulated by PenCom via an Investment Guidelines that details the assets classes, volume, ratings and others that PFAs could invest in. This is monitored by the Investment Monitoring Department of PenCom daily via electronic means.

    “However, within the investment regulations, some PFAs do understand the market more than the others, so this makes the difference in the revenues earned in favour of the contributors. Every PFA generates a daily price which is a function of how effectively it has invested the fund under its management. The fund price, ultimately, determines the value the owner gets at the point of the exit. That is the efficient Fund Manager-PFA’s price would be the highest when compared to its peers. “So, the higher the fund price, the higher the amount the contributors gets at the point of exit.”