The Nation Newspaper

Category: Pension

  • Firms ‘use delay tactics’ to stop savers moving money’

    Millions of pension savers are being prevented from moving their money to a cheaper provider through “delay tactics” employed by companies, investigation has shown.

    Data obtained from hundreds of customers attempting to leave some of Britain’s biggest pension providers, shows they face a plethora of hurdles which deter them from switching.

    Firms making switching more difficult through offering poor customer service tend to charge the highest fees, suggesting the tactics are being used by firms “desperate” to stop savers seeking a cheaper deal elsewhere, according to PensionBee, the company that conducted the research.

    Firms took up to two months to answer basic information requests, such as account details, with once provider, St James’s Place, taking an average of 40 days to respond.

    The provider also creates a new policy when a customer makes a contribution, leaving some customers with up to 11 different pensions, making it difficult or impossible for them to accurately track fees or performance.

    St James’s Place is also the second most expensive provider, according to the study, with annual management fees of 1.4pc.

    A spokesman said: “We endeavour to deal with all requests in a timely and efficient manner.”

    The research also found one of Britain’s biggest providers, Standard Life, is sending out letters to customers wishing to transfer funds and asking them to return application forms within two weeks.

    However in cases seen by this newspaper it failed to provide customers with a return address, forcing them to phone its helpline, which PensionBee claims customers found it difficult to get through to.

    Standard Life said the form was a “precautionary” means of making sure customers understand the risks and the potential tax charges associated with a transfer.

    • Culled from The Telegraph

  • ‘Nigeria’s future guaranteed by its pension system’

    ‘Nigeria’s future guaranteed by its pension system’

    Nigeria’s pension system, as enshrined in the Pensions Reform Act of 2014, is a powerful tool with which to set future goals and create the comfort and security necessary to enjoy fulfilment in retirement, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Mr. Eric Fajemisin, has said.

    Fajemisin, who was represented by Executive Director, Investments, Mr. Oladele Sotubo, made this statement at a pre-retirement forum organised by Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

    He said that Stanbic IBTC Pension on its part has plans to help people make a successful transition to the next stage of their lives and have the retirement they desire.

    According to him, planning for retirement is crucial to fulfillment in retirement.

    He said: “The company has outlined steps to help people make a successful transition to the next stage of their lives and have the dream retirement they desire. Although people have the freedom to make choices about the kind of life they want to have in retirement, failure to plan for this eventuality will however lead to unpleasant consequences.

    “As people head towards retirement, a decision about the type of life they wish to live in retirement should not be made from the hip, but rather through a well-structured financial planning process. The process should commence from the day one takes on a first job and involves setting aside part of current income into a retirement savings account.

    “The pre-retirement forum, which the firm launched three years ago, is part of initiatives aimed at encouraging retirement planning amongst Nigerian workers and employers.”

    Fajemisin added that the event with theme, ‘Life Continues at Retirement – Retire well’, draws audience from the public and private sectors. Abuja is the second among key cities across the country to host the forum this year.

    He noted that a similar session was held in Lagos in April, while another is slated for Port Harcourt later in the year.

    He said that the pre-retirement fora, among several instituted by the firm to engage with stakehold-ers at different stages, are aimed at providing people, particularly those approaching retirement, a platform to have a clear view of the path to a comfortable retirement, while removing the stress of pondering what will happen when the individual disengages from active service.

    Head, Business Development, Stanbic IBTC Pension, Mrs. Nike Bajomoassured that the company remains committed to rendering impeccable service to its clientele.

    “We make a promise to our clients: that they will retire well. It is a promise we always keep. That explains why we are represented in virtually every part of Nigeria, so that our customers will not have to go over long distances in order to meet with us.

    “Retirement is a time to rest and enjoy the fruits of your labour. and we help to achieve that,” said Bajomo.

    Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, a full service financial services group with focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Standard Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets and earnings.

  • Life Annuity fund soars to N80b, says NAICOM

    Life Annuity fund soars to N80b, says NAICOM

    The insurance industry presently has between N70 to N80 billion life annuity fund, Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Mohammed Kari has said.

    He made this known following calls by the Minster for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola that the industry should invest in infrastructural development.

    Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Commissioner said that the annuity fund can be invested into infrastructural development and investment with assurance from government and development institutions that the industry will be able to recoup the funds invested.

    He added that the fund is currently building up, noting that it is a huge long term fund.

    According to him, despite the law restricting insurance companies from investing more than 25 per cent in non-insurance business, the commission can issue prudential guidelines to amend that part of the law.

    He added that if the industry is willing to assist the government with between N10 billion or N20 billion in a year, the Federal Government will do a lot more for the industry.

    He said: “If we are willing to show government that we can support them with N10 billion or N20 billion a year, imagine what they will do for the industry. We can even invest in the Bank of Industry and other developmental institution as long as such investments are guaranteed. We can invest some of our accumulated funds in such investment.”

    “The short term funds can also be invested since insurance laws does not restrict any company on investment. The prudential guideline that is issued by NAICOM from time to time is what dictates where any company can put in its funds.”

    Kari stressed that the industry is at liberty to change its laws to suit the current reality on ground aimed at deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria.

  • British pensions are now £383b

    Britain’s defined benefit funds are now £383.6billion underwater, compared to £294.6 billion just a month ago, as the tumbling UK government bond yields added to liabilities while global stock markets wiped value from the schemes’ equity investments.

    Consequently, the country’s gold-plated pensions have record-breaking liabilities of £1.75 trillion after the EU referendum triggered a rout in their core gilt and equity holdings, highlighting the difficulty of funding the UK’s retirement needs.

    The country has almost 6,000 defined benefit schemes, which are obliged to pay their members an amount in retirement often tied to their final salary. Just 950 of these schemes were in surplus on June 30, with the rest hoping to make up the shortfall from long-term investment returns.

    • Culled from The Telegraph
  • ‘PenCom, operators working hard to capture informal sector’

    ‘PenCom, operators working hard to capture informal sector’

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and pension operators are working hard to capture the informal sector under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), Managing Director, Future Unity Glandvilles (FUG) Pensions, Usman Suleiman has said.

    He made this known to journalists in Lagos.

    According to him, the informal sector has some peculiarities, which need a lot of consideration and planning before they can be absorbed under the scheme, adding that PenCom and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) are working very hard on this.

    “You will agree with me that bringing in the informal sector involves a lot of intricacies. We have to work out the processes such that we will not only be able to capture those who are involved in the informal sector, but also take into consideration their peculiarities.

    “This is because these are small term operators, who generate little bit of income over a vast terrain. They are substantially dependent on what they generate on a regular basis and would normally continue to work until such a time that they do not have the strength to work. Also, a significant number of them do not have good education and exposure that employees in the formal sector have, and lastly a lot of them may even not have bank accounts. But they have telephones and are registered with telephone companies. They have national identity cards, which effectively means that they have data somewhere and they can somehow be contacted and accessed,” he said.

    These and many more, according to him, are what they have to work on, adding that PenCom has to come out with regulations that will take into significant consideration these peculiarities also within the existing law.

    He noted that this is not easy, hence the stakeholders have to work things out carefully so that at implementation they do not run into difficulties or problems.

    “In addition to that, the regulator is also looking at coming up with micro pension, which in this case is not just for the informal sector, but individuals who are earning income on their own. It may be very small or it can be huge, more than the formal companies.  For instance, if you are running a software business or you are running a blog from your home and you have advertisements from all the major companies in the country. You probably will be generating N100 million in a month, but you are just alone working in your house. The law does not require you to have a pension, but with what the regulator is trying to come up with, you will now see the need for it.

    “The micro pension can be an insignificant amount or a big amount, but at a micro level, which will be under the micro pension scheme. What happens when the individual does not make profit and it is not able to do the monthly contribution? That is part of what the regulator is going to come up with. We have to take into consideration peculiarities of the contributors and give avenue for all sorts of peculiarities.

    “It may be that you contribute weekly, monthly or quarterly from your fund. You don’t have to go to any bank, it may be just from your phone by doing a transfer and you receive confirmation. It will be structured to accommodate the peculiarities of those involved and not be like what we have in the formal setting,” he said.

  • LASACO appoints Disu as chairman

    LASACO appoints Disu as chairman

    LASACO Assurance Plc has announced the appointment of Mrs.  Aderinola Disu as Chairman of the Board of Directors with effect from April 1, 2016.

    Mrs. Disu takes over from Mr Ashim Oyekan, who resigned from the Board, having served the company for 19 Years.

    Founded in 1979, LASACO Assurance is a market leader in insurance and financial services in Nigeria, providing a plethora of services to its teeming clients.

    Disu brings  significant experience, both from the public and private sectors, through her extensive record and her wider business interests in strategic sectors in Nigeria.

    Mr. Segun Balogun, Managing Director of LASACO Assurance Plc., commenting on the appointment, said: “LASACO Assurance is extremely fortunate to have appointed a Chairman of such caliber and experience. Mrs. Disu’s diverse experience, both in the public and private sectors, will prove invaluable as we are set to fully transform the company.”

    Disu holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Lagos and she is an alumnus of Lagos Business School. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom (UK).

    Her career spans over 20 years in private legal practice and with T.A Braithwaite & Co (insurance brokers), where she rose to the post of Executive Vice-Chairman between 1993-2003.

    After two decades in the legal and the corporate world, she ventured into politics; largely due to her concerns about the infrastructure and community challenges facing business development in her immediate environment. She has played active political roles in Lagos State in the last 15 years, participating in the socio-economic and political development at both the local government and state levels.

    She was the former Executive Secretary and later Chairman of Lagos Island Local Government. She was also a member of the Lagos State Executive Council as the Special Adviser on Central Business Districts under the former governor, Mr.  Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) from 2011-2014 .

  • Lagos issues N895. 5m bond certificates to 256 retirees

    Lagos issues N895. 5m bond certificates to 256 retirees

    The Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) issued another set of Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates for  N895. 522 million to retirees from the Civil Service, local governments, State Universal Basic Education, and other parastatals in June, this year.

    Its Director-General, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, in a statement, said the retirees were presented their bond certificates over the weekend.

    According to her, the government commenced the monthly payment of terminal entitlements last August and in the last 11 months, N15.445.552 billion was paid to 3,600 retirees.

    She said the Commission was inching towards a pension structure that would ensure commencement of pension payment not later than four weeks after retirement.

    She noted that paying the retirees monthly was part of the agenda for ‘a new Lagos’.

    Onanuga, who said that the backlog must be cleared, added that the government would continue to monitor the welfare of retirees from the state’s service despite the fact that payment of their monthly pension was the responsibility of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) or Annuity Service providers.

    On the need to be careful, she drew the attention of the recipients to the fact that pension fraudsters are on the prowl as she always does. She said they have devised various means of extorting money from retirees. She stated that only the greedy would be cornerd. She advised them to spend wisely and not engage in extravagant spending.

  • Efekoha is NIA chair

    •Promises to reposition industry

    The Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) has elected the Managing Director of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, as its new chairman.

    Efekoha, who took over from Gus Wiggle, was elected over the weekend during the 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association in Lagos.

    The new chairman promised to address four critical areas in line with the theme: ”Sustainable market development through stakeholders engagement”.

    He listed the areas as  stakeholders’ engagement with policy makers, regulatory institutions and industry players; enforcement of market discipline; review of the NIA constitution to make it more dynamic and to embark upon  projects, such as the NIA Building.

    Efekoha recalled that the association two years ago commenced the execution of some key projects.

    These include a positive public image for the industry with industry regulators to ensure higher insurance contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), better industry friendly legislation, continuous digitalisation of operations and enforcement of the compulsory insurance offerings through relevant public agencies.

    He added that resources had been deployed to ensure the actualisation of the objectives, noting that they would continue to intensify efforts at the Council level to ensure the realisation of these goals.

    “Ours is, indeed, a collective effort. My promise is to ensure full actualisation of the projects we jointly embarked upon in the past, whilst ensuring that many more that will contribute to the elevation of the industry to new heights are embarked upon as I provide the necessary leadership.’’

  • Buhari, Emefiele, others for confab

    The industry is set to host its National Insurance Conference, which President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to declare open next week.

    Chairman, Planning Committee of the conference, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, at a briefing in Lagos, said the conference with theme: “Expanding national resources and infrastructure in challenging times”, will hold at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, from July 10 -July 13, this year.

    She said the president has agreed to be at the event. The conference is also expected to be graced by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, who would be the Special Guest at the Grand Ball; the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, as the Guest of honour, and the Commissioner for Insurance Mohammed Kari, as the chief host.

    According to her, two scholars, Dr. Biodun Adedipe and Kunle Elebute, would lead discussions.

    She noted that the paper on ‘Managing risks associated with non-oil resources exploration’, would be delivered by Ambassador Biodun Olorunfemi, former Director-General of Nigerian Mining Corporation, Jos, while a paper titled: ‘Insurance as a vehicle for agricultural development’ would be presented by Dr. Adelaja Adesina. He would be supported by Dr. Femi Coker, the National President, Farmers Association; Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh and Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola and Alhaji Bala Zakarya’u are among the speakers.

    Ilori said: “The theme of the conference could not have been more timely and apt than now, when the policy direction of the present administration is towards re-building a virile national economy through diversification and expansion of national and infrastructural resources. It has remained an irony that in spite of the nation’s past economic buoyancy, little premium was placed deliberately on building, maintaining and expanding national resources that would stand the test of time.

    “It is, therefore, quite commendable that the present administration has made economic diversification and infrastructural development its major policy thrust by committing so much money to critical sectors, such as works, roads and power,” she said.

     

  • PTAD to verify Lagos civil service pensioners

    PTAD to verify Lagos civil service pensioners

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said the next phase of its verification of civil service pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme will soon commence in Lagos State.

    This is coming on the heels of the state’s promise to provide logistics for the verification of its pensioners  to facilitate the payment of their pension benefits and entitlements.

    Head, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Theodora Amechi made this known in an interview with The Nation in Lagos.

    According to her, the Directorate recently received a pledge of partnership from the state government on how to make pension payment easy to the pensioners.

    She said the Directorate was delighted at the offer from the state government, adding that it would go long way in making PTAD’s work easier.

    She stressed that the Directorate also believes that pension administration in Nigeria would have registered greater success if all the state governments were willing to support and collaborate with it as the Lagos State government is offering to do.

    She noted that with the support, the Directorate has decided that the next phase of PTAD’s nationwide verification of civil service pensioners will commence in Lagos on a date to be jointly agreed upon.

    Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Civil Service Pensions Office, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Balogun had during a visit to PTAD at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, conveyed the state government’s commitment to provide logistic support to enable PTAD conduct the verification of all pensioners with Federal share in the state.

    Balogun, who presented a nominal roll of state pensioners with federal share to the management of PTAD said conducting the verification exercise will enable PTAD resolve issues of non-payment and short-payment to pensioners.

    She said it would also help in the reconciliation of any outstanding obligation on the part of the Federal Government.