The Nation Newspaper

Category: Pension

  • PHCN pensioners laud govt over payment of pension

    PHCN pensioners laud govt over payment of pension

    • Seek payment of gratuity, others

    The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pensioners under the umbrella body of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (Electricity Sector) have lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for his intervention in facilitating the payment of their four months pension benefits.

    The pensioners said following the appeal and promises by the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME)  and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to them to shelve their planned protest over the non-payment of their four-month pension, gratuity and other benefits, the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Limited (NELMCO), which is the electricity workers’ pension manager, has informed  them of the release of their  second quarter, pension fund allocation.

    The pensioners said in view of their transfer to the Pension Transitional Arrangement (PTAD) from July 1, by the CME, money should be released to PTAD to enable it pay their pension and other benefits henceforth.

    Chairman, NUP PHCN, Comrade Temple Ubani, made the request  in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan while seeking more intervention for the pensioners. The letter was sent to the President and the Minister of Power through the Permanent Secretary and Chairman, Technical Implementation Committee on the Payment of Terminal Benefits of PHCN Employees, Federal Ministry of Power, Dr Godknows Igali.

    Ubaniconfirmed that some of their members have started receiving alert of payments of their pension into their accounts.

    He said: “We wish to place on record our gratitude on the positive responses and interventions from the Minister of Power, Minister of Finance/CME and ultimately, President Goodluck Jonathan, for ensuring the immediate release of NELMCO second quarter of the year pension fund allocation on July 11, 2014, after our meeting with you and Nebo, the Minister of State, Power, Mohammed Wakil on July 9, 2014. NELMCO has informed us that payment for the months of March, April and May, is underway.

    “Permit us to recall in particular the President’s intervention in 2012, when PHCN unilaterally stopped the payment of our August 2012 monthly pension, and at the same time refused to transfer the pensioners’ records/data to NELMCO to take over the payments.

    “In that instance, it was President Jonathan that used his good offices to direct the PHCN and NELMCO managements to synergise and effect that payment, and ensure that subsequent ones are paid as at when due. He nipped in the bud what would have caused serious industrial breach in the sector as our colleagues in active service were mobilising to support our mass protests.

    “We thank the President and other relevant authorities for coming to our help this time around, at least to stem the spate of unfortunate deaths of our members, believably caused by the delayed payment of our stipends for four months consecutively.”

    Ubani appealed for continuous interventions in resolving other labour (pension) outstanding liabilities, which NELMCO lacks the capacity to discharge.

    He noted that the NELMCO Board’s recent decision to transfer power sector pensions to PTAD, though, a welcome development, may be confronted with challenges, if outstanding liabilities are not settled in line with the agreements reached in 2012 & 2013, between labour unions in PHCN and the Federal Government.

    He said the agreements, include 120 per cent pension arrears owed some 4,909 pensioners; arrears of monetisation; arrears of harmonisation, initial pension arrears; death benefits owed the next of kins of dead PHCN staff and or retirees; non conclusion of the biometric capture exercise, which Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) commenced in 2012, and payment of gratuities to retirees (though on-going), but should be quickened to douse tensions.

    Ubani stated that initial interactions with PTAD officials suggest that it would need the funds appropriated in 2014 budget for NELMCO to pay pensions, to discharge its responsibility with effect from July, this year.

    He said that in view of the well-known antecedents of the Ministry of Finance, especially the Budget and Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) offices’ delay in release of their pension, we solicit Presidential intervention right away, to forestall another round of bureaucratic delays and accumulation of months of pension arrears from July.

    Nevertheless, the N14 billion appropriated for this year is already experiencing shortfalls arising from the implementation of monetisation, harmonisation and unpaid normal pension arrears. There is therefore, urgent need to source for augmentation early enough, to avoid crises with PTAD, he said.

  • Allianz is lead reinsurer of $97.3m jet in crash

    Allianz SE (ALV) is the lead hull and liability reinsurer of the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that was shot down in Eastern Ukraine, said Bloomberg.

    The aircraft’s value is about $97.3 million, London-based insurance broker Aon Plc (AON:US), which tracks the market for aviation coverage, said in a recent report. Atrium Underwriting Group Limited was the leader for war coverage, which could pay claims if the damage is tied to terrorism, Aon said.

    “As leading reinsurer of Malaysia Airlines for aviation hull and liability coverage, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty stands by to support our client as fully and quickly as possible,” Jacqueline M. Maher, a spokeswoman for Munich-based Allianz, said in an e-mailed statement.

    “It is much too early to comment on reports of this tragic incident while details are still being confirmed, except to extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this crash.” Atrium’s Liz O’Rourke declined to comment.

    The Boeing Co. 777 crashed near the town of Torez, about 30 kilometers, 18 miles from the Russian border, killing all 298 people on board. The plane was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. The government in Kiev blamed the attack on pro-Russian rebels, an accusation the separatists denied.

    The attack threatens to raise tensions in Ukraine’s civil war. Carriers including Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Air France-KLM and OAO Aeroflot are shifting planes away from the region, which sits astride some of the busiest air routes between Europe and Asia.

    Atrium provides coverage through the Lloyd’s of London market. Enstar Group Ltd. (ESGR:US) purchased a majority stake in Atrium last year.

    Willis Group Holdings Plc (WSH:US) brokered the coverage, said Colleen McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the company.

  • ‘One in 10 pensioners is a millionaire’

    Over a million of pensioner households in the UK now have a total wealth of more than £1million, according to analysis by Prudential.

    The retirement company said this growth in wealth was down to a boost in the average value of pension assets, an increase in the value of savings and investments held by retired households and a rise in property values.

    Examining Office for National Statistics data for 2010 to 2012, Prudential found that the number of millionaire pensioner households increased by 69 per cent compared with 2006 to 2008 when the number stood at just over 636,000.

    This means that more than one in ten (11 per cent) of over-65 households in 2010/12 had a total wealth of over £1million.

    Prudential retirement expert Vince Smith-Hughes said: ‘These results challenge a few commonly held perceptions.

    ‘’The figures underline the importance of people saving as much as possible as early as possible in their working lives to enable then to secure a comfortable income in retirement.

    ‘’Even those who will fall into the growing number of pensioner millionaires when they retire need to consider their income options.’’

    Prudential said the average value of private pension assets increased to £82,300 in 2010/12, up from £60,000 in 2006/06. The number of people who have private pension wealth in this period grew to 76 per cent from 73 per cent.

    Less than one fifth (19 per cent) of over-65 households have savings and investments worth more than £100,000 – an increase from 15 per cent in 2006/08.

  • Africa set to utilise pension funds for growth

    Africa set to utilise pension funds for growth

    Pension professionals, stakeholders and regulators in Africa and from other parts of the world gathered last week in Nigeria for the World Pension Summit, ‘Africa Special,’ co-hosted by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The agenda was to brainstorm on how best to harness the continent’s pension fund assets as catalysts for economic development and prosperity. OmobolaTolu-Kusimo, who was at the summit, reports.

    Within 10 years, the pension industry in Nigeria has experienced phenomenal growth from a deficit of N2 trillion in form of pension liabilities in 2004, to accumulation of pension fund assets worth N4.3 trillion by the end of last year.

    The achievement in the industry will further grow with the recent passage of the new Pension Reform Act, 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    These developments and more were showcased at the just concluded World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special,’ hosted by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) which held for the first time in Africa.

    Thoughts and experiences were shared among African countries in particular, and the world in general on how pension funds can evoke pragmatic, sustainable and most effective initiatives for pension fund governance and regulation in the continent.

    According to PenCom, the summit was also held in recognition of the increasing significance of pension funds in shaping Africa’s future.

    Speakers, panelists and other discussants dissected many of the issues and proffered solutions that will ensure that Africa remains at the cutting-edge in the conception  and implementation of sustainable pension policies.

    They also deliberated on strategies for developing an appropriate framework for leveraging pension funds across the continent to accelerate the implementation of critical high-impact infrastructure projects.

    Prior to pension reform and the establishment of PenCom in 2004, pension schemes in Nigeria had been bedeviled by many problems. The public service operated an unfunded Defined Benefits Scheme and the payment of retirement benefits was budgeted for annually.

    The annual budgetary allocation for pension was often one of the most vulnerable items in budget implementation in the light of resource constraints. In many cases, even where budgetary provisions were made, inadequate and untimely release of funds resulted in delays and accumulation of arrears of payment of pension rights. It was obvious therefore, that the Defined Benefits Scheme could not be sustained.

    In the private sector, many employees were not covered by the pension schemes put in place by their employers and many of these schemes were not funded.Besides, where the schemes were funded, the management of the pension funds was fraught with malpractices carried out by the fund managers and the trustees of the pension funds.

    This scenario necessitated a re-think of pension administration in Nigeria by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Accordingly, the administration initiated a pension reform in order to address and eliminate the problems associated with pension schemes in the country.

    The outcome of the reform was the enactment into law of the Pension Reform Act 2004 and the establishment of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to regulate, supervise and ensure effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria.

    At present, there are 20 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and four Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) under PenCom.

    Since its establishment, PenCom has been able to implement the contributory pension system that has pension administration and custodianship intertwined; duly licensed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) open Retirement Savings Accounts for employees, invest and manage the pension funds in a manner that the Commission may from time to time prescribe, maintain books of accounts on all transactions relating to the pension funds managed by them, provide regular information to the employees or beneficiaries of the fund and pay retirement benefits to employees . The Pension Fund Custodians, on the other hand, are responsible for the warehousing of the pension fund assets. The employer sends the contributions directly to the PFC, who notifies the PFA of the receipt of the contribution and the PFA subsequently credits the retirement savings account of the employee.

    Meanwhile, the new Pension Reform Act 2014, which repeals the Pension Reform Act, No.2, 2004, is meant to further fortify the pension assets against mismanagement and systemic risks, govern and regulate the administration of the uniform pension scheme for both public and private sectors in Nigeria.

    The 2014 Act also empowers PenCom, subject to the fiat of the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct or remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time. This was not provided for by the 2004 Act.

    Similarly, the new law allows PenCom to revoke the license of erring pension operators.However, the huge pool of funds that the contributory pension scheme has put together has been identified by analysts and other stakeholders as a firm backing to the economy.

    The Acting Director-General, PenCom, Chinelo Anohu-Amozu, while speaking at the summit, said the outcome of the event has set modalities that can address the challenges of infrastructure gaps in Africa, which will indeed help in creating the economic pre-conditions needed for longer-term growth as well as to foster poverty alleviation.

    She said in achieving the set goals, African government must be mindful of the fact that our hopes and aspirations as a continent are primarily hinged on the evolution and development of retirement benefits into a veritable instrument of social change, not in a theoretical or abstract sense, but in terms of an intrinsic transformation of our institutions, and our operators.

    She said: “We need to attempt to set out what could be considered a set of challenges that pension professionals and regulators around Africa must surmount, in order to engender the evolution of a retirement pension system that will be rooted in our collective social consciousness.

    “We also need systems that are relevant to the fundamental needs of our continent, which are dynamic enough to initiate and also respond to developmental challenges facing the continent in an increasingly interdependent global economy.

    “Infrastructure development remains a key driver and a critical enabler of sustainable growth in Africa and the current favourable economic landscape on the continent provides a unique opportunity for the public and private sectors to collectively address the infrastructure gaps. Focusing on Africa’s infrastructure challenges will indeed help in creating the economic pre-conditions needed for longer-term growth as well as to foster poverty alleviation.

    “Given the size of pension fund assets across Africa, there is a real opportunity for policymakers to collaborate with pension professionals so as to effectively leverage these assets for sustainable progress.”

    Mrs Anohu-Amazu stressed that as the proportion of retirement income provided by private pensions continues to grow, the regulatory framework designed to protect those funds becomes even more crucial.

    She noted that the theme of the summit, ‘Shaping the Future’ underscores the imperative of institutionalising a risk-based approach, which ultimately allows the regulatory agencies to channel their resources towards, issues that pose the greatest threat to the stability of the industry.

    The Chief Executive, Kenyan Retirement Benefits Authority, Edward Odundo, while citing the Kenyan example, said pension operators in Kenya are not attracted to private equity and venture capital.

    He said they rather tilt towards lending to workers for housing purposes.He said: “One of the ways that pension fund could put to good use to the benefit of contributors is to allow Retirement Saving Account holders to borrow from the scheme.  If one has N10 million accumulated savings, instead of going to the bank to borrow at 21 per cent interest rate, he could be allowed to borrow from his accumulated fund and repay at a friendly interest rate while his savings serve as collateral for the credit.  This is the case with Kenya, he added.

    “Pension Reform in Kenya has resulted in a sea of change in the operations of retirement benefits schemes in the country. This has led to rapid growth of the industry coupled with enhanced member protection and security. Building on this success, the government has introduced further reforms aimed at securing and consolidating these gains.”

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole who spoke on investment of the pension assets in capital market, faulted the investment of pension assets in the capital market saying the fund should rather be deployed to areas that would benefit contributors directly.

    He observed that the fund is largely being invested in government bonds and quoted stock in the capital market, saying it wasn’t the poverty of government that informed the scheme but old age poverty.

    He added that the instruments benefit the rich who have the capacity and connections to access the fund to do business and make profit while the workers who are contributing the fund don’t have access to it noting that investing pension assets in the capital market is tantamount to pooling the resources of the poor for the benefit of the rich.

    The Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Issa Aremu, concurred with the Kenyan regulator, that pension assets should be used to provide houses for the working people. He charged pension stakeholders to deploy pension asset to financing home ownership schemes for workers. This is one of the ways to deploy pension funds for the benefits of contributors directly, he added.

    He said houses are expensive when mortgage institutions and other intermediaries build for sale to workers stating that Kenya workers are allowed to borrow from their retirement savings to build houses.

    Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Service, Mr. Aloysius Etok on his part identified some lacuna in the new Pension Reform Act, 2014.He said the National Assembly was discovered though belatedly that the pension law left out employers and political appointees.

    He advised that the pension stakeholders should do everything possible to ensure that the law is returned to the National Assembly to be upgraded with a view to bringing both employers and government appointees under the contributory pension scheme.

    Niger State Governor, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu raised the issue of non-compliance by some states of the pension reform law.He said it is important that PenCom ensures the law permeates the states.

  • Edo set to announce PFAs for contributory pension

    Edo set to announce PFAs for contributory pension

    The process for appointing Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) that will manage the pensions of Edo State pensioners is ongoing, The Nation has learnt.

    Public Relations Officer to the State Head of Service, Sam Okpeaye, who made this known, said the PFAs will set the pace for the commencement of Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the state.

    He said plans to implement the contributory pension scheme in the state civil service were concluded last year by the Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole adding that the successful PFAs would soon be announced.

    He explained that compilation of adequate data of pensioners was part of the reasons for delay in implementing the new pension scheme.

    He said efforts are also being made to pay arrears owed pensioners before the present government.

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) had said that states in the federation have continued to make progress in implementing the CPS.

    PenCom said that as at first quarter of 2013, 21 state governments have enacted their pension laws, 14 states were at the bill stages, while one state was yet to commence the process of implementing the CPS.

    Specifically, the eight states that are in full compliance having enacted their pension law and commenced contributions are Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Kaduna, Jigawa, Osun, Niger and Zamfara.

    The 13 states that are in partial compliance having enacted their pension law but yet to start contributions are Edo, Kogi, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Kebbi, Taraba, Imo, Kano, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Akwa-Ibom, and Nasarawa.

    The remaining 14 states in the process of enacting their pension law are Anambra, Enugu, Gombe, Ondo, Abia, Plateau, Bauchi, Katsina, Benue, Borno, Yobe, Cross River, Kwara and Ebonyi.

    Only Adamawa State out of the 36  is yet to take any step to implement the CPS.

  • Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation strategises for growth

    Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation has adpoted a new strategy aimed at reclaiming and sustaining its leadership in the reinsurance market.

    The Managing Director of the company, Lady Isioma Chukwuma made this known to reporters in Lagos.

    She disclosed that the execution of the new strategies has begun with the creation of a new department called critical operations, noting the department is divided into three, namely customer loyalty, research and development and strategic performance units.

    She said the organisation has since spearheaded the implementation of the strategy for the successful realisation of the new charge.

    She said: “The new roadmap is all encompassing. It is designed to create more market for the company, improve customer relationship, increase the company’s premium level and improve the visibility of the company.

    “The management of the organisation has packaged special programmes specifically for our external partners. These programmes will include local and international seminar/lectures, monthly customer loyalty team visits to all our existing and potential customers.’’

    She noted that the objective requires an urgent strategic roadmap for projecting the new possibilities in the reinsurance market, and that this need formed the reason the board of the company embarked on a week’s retreat where the new roadmap was rolled out.

    The retreat, she said is tagged, “Strategic roadmap for Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation” and has a time frame of 10 years starting from 2014 to 2024 and would be reviewed every five years for improvement where necessary.

  • ‘Proper project management key to accessing pension funds’

    ‘Proper project management key to accessing pension funds’

    There is a need for African governments to address the critical challenge facing the continent in managing projects financing and funding if they have to access pension funds to accelerate the implementation of critical high-impact infrastructure projects.

    The Acting Director-General, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu stated these at the just-concluded World Pension Summit, Africa Special in Abuja. It had as theme, “Shaping the Future.’’

    She, however, noted that given the size of pension fund assets in Nigeria and across Africa, there are real opportunities for policymakers to collaborate with pension professionals so as to effectively leverage these assets for sustainable progress.

    She said in Nigeria, the rate of growth of pension assets in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has continued to rise from 1.47 per cent in 2006 to 9.57 per cent last year.

    According to her, the success of the contributory pension scheme has triggered an exponential growth in the pension funds and size of assets under management across the globe.

    She stated that the value of pension assets has grown from 1.47 per cent in 2006 to 9.57 per cent in 2013 of the national GDP.

    She added that as the population of retirement income provided by private pensions continues to grow, the regulatory framework designed to protect those funds becomes even more crucial.

    She said the theme of the summit thus underscores the imperative of institutionalising a risk-based approach to the supervision and control of pension markets across the continent.

    She said: “The risk-based approach focuses on the identification of potential risks faced by pension funds and strengthens mechanisms that are in place to attenuate those risks, which ultimately allows the regulatory agencies to channel their resources towards issues that pose the greatest threat to the stability of the industry.

    “Infrastructure development remains a key driver and a critical enabler of sustainable growth in Africa and the current favourable economic landsape on the continent provides a unique opportunity for the public and private sectors to collectively address the infrastructure gaps.

    “Focusing on Africa’s infrastructure challenges will indeed help in creating the economic pre-conditions needed for longer-term growth as well as to foster poverty alleviation. However, disruptive market, demographic, fiscal, and environmental dynamics are fundamentally reshaping Africa’s economic landscape. In this new reality, national governments must think of infrastructure, not in general but in the specific, understanding the ways in which different infrastructure sectors such as transportation, energy and water are governed, financed and sustainably delivered.”

  • ‘New Pension Reform Act’ll boost economy’

    The new Pension Reform Act, 2014 will further concretise the statutory foundation of the pension industry and position it for the attainment of greater heights, the Managing Director, Premium Pension Limited Wilson Ideva has said.

    Ideva who spoke to The Nation in Lagos, commended the Federal Government on the signing into law of the Pension Reform Bill, 2014.

    According to him, the industry is  set to witness unimaginable growth that has never been seen in any sector of the Nigerian economy.

    The new pension law repeals the Pension Reform Act, No.2, 2004, which has been in operation for the past ten years.

    He added that the Nigeria’s CPS has recorded tremendous success in its first decade of operation enlisting 6.4 million Nigerian workers and raking in about N4.3 trillion  as funds under management.

    He said: “It is widely believed that the growth in the industry would have even been more expansive if the previous law allowed the application of very stringent measures on noncompliant institutions and individuals.

    “Moral suasion yielded little results hence it is expected that when the new pension law is fully applied, majority of the country’s working population in the public or private sector or even artisans would be covered by the scheme.

    “The Pension Reform Act among other things, enhances the enforcement responsibilities of the regulatory institution, National Pension Commission (PenCom).”

    Ideva said it will also ensure further airtight protection of pension funds and unpacks guidelines and possibilities of creatively and professionally applying pension funds for national development.

    With the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, 2014, the pension industry in Nigeria is the sub sector to watch in the course of national development in the coming years. The industry is already well positioned to assert its centrality to social and economic development, he added.

  • PHCN pensioners urge pension manager on payment

    PHCN pensioners urge pension manager on payment

    Following the Federal Government’s directive that defunct PHCN Pensioners (Electricity Sector) be transferred to Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD), the pensioners are asking Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/Gte (NELMCO) to expedite action on the payment of their four months pension arrears, and other benefits, reports Omobola Tolu-Kusimo.

    It was mixed reactions for the defunct PHCN electricity sector pensioners when the Federal Government informed them that from July 1, 2014, they would be transferred from their present pension manager, Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/Gte (NELMCO) to the Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD) established under the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

    While some are afraid of what the future holds for them with PTAD, others take respite in the fact that PTAD has been managing and paying pension benefits to five Federal Government parastatals promptly.

    The pensioners numbering about 15,000 under the umbrella body of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (Electricity sector) are owedmonthly pensions of N4.5 billion since March this year, while some were not paid since February. They are also owed gratuity, death benefits, monetization, year 2000 restructured employees’ pension arrears, among others.

    Before now, they have been locked in a battle with the Ministry of Finance over non-payment of their benefits. They protested severally and even declared a week of prayer and fasting nationwide.

    NELMCO was set by the Federal Government under the ministry of finance to aggregate all non-core assets of PHCN and dispose of them and use proceeds to pay liabilities. They are to aggregate all PHCN liabilities, verify and pay, manage PHCN pensioners in the interim and situate them in the appropriate special purpose vehicle among others.

    In one of their numerous letters to the Ministry, the pensioners called on the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME), Dr. (Mrs) NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, to intervene and ameliorate the sufferings of PHCN retirees and the next of kin of dead staff.

    The NUP Chairman, Comrade Temple Ubani informed Dr. Okonjo-Iwaela who is also the Chairman Board of NELMCO, that payment of monthly pensions to their members has been irregular; that it has been inconsistent with the promise of the Federal Government as endorsed in the agreement signed by the Government and Labour prior to the privatisation of PHCN in 2012.

    According to him, few months after take-over by NELMCO, payment of monthly pension has been seamless but the present situation is orchestrated by government’s failure to appropriately classify NELMCO Pension Fund under the Service Wide Vote (SWV) instead of the Capital Supplementation where it has been wrongly [domiciled.

    The abnormal situation, he said, has always given rise to insufficient funding of NELMCO and delayed release of quarterly allocations.

    He said: “As we write, only a segment of PHCN Pensioners have received March pensions while we were informed that NELMCO is yet to be funded for the outstanding March payment as well as April 2014.

    “On withheld gratuities, death benefits, pension arrears, the BPE confirmed that funds for payment of a total number of 2,912 verified and cleared retirees and next of kin of deceased staff have been transferred to the Office of Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for payment to the beneficiaries. About a month after, no one has been paid a kobo. There is anxiety and apprehension among the people that such funds may have been deployed for purposes other than they are meant for, not minding whose ox is gored.

    “There is also the issue of non-implementation of signed agreements. Government has failed to implement all the pensioners issues negotiated and agreed to at the Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu Conciliation Committee between FGN and Labour Unions in the Power Sector in 2012. It is regrettable that such critical and fundamental issues as monetization, year 2000 restructured employees, among others have remained unaddressed.

    “If we must be transferred to PTAD, the BPE must be prevailed on to conclude the Verification and Biometric capture exercises, which it commenced since 2012. Similarly NELMCO/PHCN must be encouraged to tidy up all outstanding issues of the Pensioners, collaborating with our union. PTAD is a huge project hence all non-civil service pensioners must be properly documented before transiting to it”.

    Ubani added that consequent upon the aforementioned grievances, the union Central Working Committee (CWC)-in-Session at Abuja on Thursday 1st of May, 2014 resolved and directed that all PHCN retirees, widows, widowers and orphans should embark on seven days fasting and prayer for God to intervene and judge all those who are undermining their wellbeing and welfare with effect from Wednesday 7th of May, 2014.

    Following the protest, the Ministry of Finance directed the immediate migration of the pensioners to PTAD.

    To ensure that the pensioners understand the new development and the effects on them, NELMCO and PTAD organised a meeting for the pensioners’ executive members including their zonal and State head to prepare them for  the management and administration of PHCN pensioners.

    NELMCO’s Managing Director,Dr Sam Agbogun said he is excited that the pensioners are being moved to PTAD.

    In his explanation to the pensioners he said that following the reoccurring challenge that has led to inability to promptly pay the PHCN pensioners, the Board of NELMCO in its last board meeting resolved anddirected that their payment andmanagement obligations be transferred to(PTAD) within three months.

    Speaking further, Abogun said NELMCO will complete the harmonization of Pre-June 2003 Retirees, complete the monitisation of Post-June 2004 Retirees and address resolution of Year 2000 retirees Issues.

    He said NEMLCO will also engage PTAD with a view to finalising the transfer,  hold inter-agencies meeting with Budget Office of the Federation, Office of Accountant General of Federation; NELMCO Board; engage Leadership of NUP (Electricity Sector); effect transfer to PTAD in July; manage residual house-keeping issues like arrears, among others.

    PTAD Director-General, Ms Nellie Meshack on her part assured the pensioners of prompt payment of their benefits and affirmed that transition process will begin in July and end in three months.

    She said the policy directions on the part of government have changed and to achieve this it requires the support of stakeholders.

    She asks the pensioners to apply the synergy and collaboration they gave to NELMCO to them.

    She said: “We have been working to receive the pensioners from NELMCO. The Federal Government gave us three months to complete the process.

    “It is imperative to allay the fears and apprehension of pensioners on the establishment of PTAD as expressed by some group of people. PTAD is aimed at providing significant “value-add” by sanitizing and stabilizing the pension administration in line with the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government. Other key strategic focus of PTAD is to institutionalize a viable, virile and transparent pension system devoid of corruption and other abuses prevalent in the current system such as ghost pensioners, irregular payment of pension and non-payment of pensions to eligible pensioners.

    “Prior to the establishment of PTAD, pension administration in Nigeria has been characterized by irregularities and misconducts, which resulted to several problems that have subjected our senior citizens who have ably and meritoriously served this country into untold hardship. The above scenario has indeed created mistrust and bad impression within the system

    “PTAD as an agency of the Federal Government was established in August 2013 in compliance with the provisions of Section 30 sub-section (2) (a) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2004 which stipulated the establishment of an independent pension department for the Public Service of the Federation, for the management of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) for pensioners not transiting to the defined contributory scheme.  Hitherto, this mandate was carried out by PenCom until the establishment of PTAD in 2013”.

    She stressed that the PRA 2004 provided for the PTAD to consolidate the Civil Service Pension Department, Police Pension Department, Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department, Pension Departments/Boards of Trustees of all Treasury Funded Parastatals.

    “In line with PRA 2004, PTAD is mandated to make its pensions budgetary estimates, receive budgetary allocations directly from the Federal Government, and make direct payment to its pensioners as and when due.

    “It is also noteworthy that Section 99 (1-2) of the PRA, 2004 succinctly provides for the dissolution of all the Pension Boards of Trustees (PBOTs) of the Treasury Funded Federal Parastatals and accordingly mandated PTAD to equally take control of their asset and liabilities. Towards implementing the provisions of the Act in August 2013, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) issued a circular to all concerned for compliance. More importantly, PTAD is obligated by law to consolidate activities of all Pension Board of trustees PBOTs) under the various Parastatals, centralize and harmonize the database under a single but robust IT platform”.

    Comrade Ubani however, said that the National Executive Council of the union resolved in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting with all stakeholders that the persistent non-payment of pension be reviewed.

    He said: “The NEC-in-Session re-affirmed its objection to the classification of their pension to the classification of our pension under capital expenses instead of recurring expenses.

    “We also condemned the non-payment of monthly pension to members for four months as at June, 2014 and therefore urged NELMCO to expedite actions towards payment of the arrears”.

    Deputy President, North Central, Abuja, Reverend Patrick Udong said his zone has suffered the non-payment of their pension and other benefits the most.

    He said many of them have died because of hunger, some live by borrowing while some live by farming.

    He appealed to the Government to be sincere and ameliorate the sufferings of pensioners.

    Another pensioner, Elder OlaAbodunrin who said he retired from the electricity sector about nine years ago.

    He hopes their transfer to PTAD will end delayed pensions and urged NELMCO to pay the four months pension arrears it owed them.

    “Our fears is for them to pay us our pension. Our people are hungry and are always coming to our houses to say whether we have collected bribe from Government and are sharing money. We are pleading to Government to pay us our four months pension and ensure that moving us to PTAD will further better our lives”.

    General Secretary; South East Zone, George Njoma spent 35 years and retired in 1997.

    He said they have no option than to migrate to PTAD.

    He said: “Frankly speaking, we have no option, the federal government has already given the directive and there is no way we can go out of it. That is what they did when they put us under NELMCO and now they say it is time to move to another establishment. What we are expecting is that wherever they take us to, let our monthly pension be paid.

    When asked if he fears his monthly pension might be less than his income, he said he has no fears, adding that as a former administrative officer, he understands how things work.

  • ‘Whereabouts of Insurance Bill unknown’

    There is uncertainty over the whereabout of the Insurance Bill, which is yet to be sent  to the National Assembly.

    Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, members of a civil society organisation, the Transparent Protection Limited/GTE (TPL) led by Dr Sam Obyeka, said they have been searching for the Insurance bill.

    Onyeka said they could only attribute the alleged disappearance of the bill to “administrative issues.” He said comments about the bill, which is an Executive bill, can only be made by the Minister of finance. According to him, “only the ministry and Minister of Finance can say what is happening to the insurance bill but we hope that something will be done about it’’.

    He exonerated the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), saying the insurance regulator had done its bit by making its input into the Bill and forwarding same to the supervising ministry of finance.

    Speaking on the same issue the Programme Manager of TPL Mr. Godson Ibekwe-Umelo said NAICOM has done its bit but that attempts to locate the bill at the ministry of finance has continued to hit brick walls.

    Ibekwe-Umelo said the ministry of finance has not been forthcoming with any positive response to the whereabouts of the Insurance bill by opting to play “a little to the right a little to the left.”

    Ibekwe-Umelo said TPL along with other civil society organisations “are concerned about the potential unwholesome outcomes of information technology revolution in the absence of a proper framework for protecting the interest of policyholders.”

    He stated that there was urgent need to develop appropriate legal frameworks for protecting on-line policy holders. He called on “appropriate bodies to move quickly to introduce rules for on-line insurance and also to forge a workable strategic relationship with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for on-line insurance policyholders’ protection.”

    Information and communication technology was noted to critically impact the financial sector particularly insurance, which has led to a collaborative venture between partners to promote insurance development in Nigeria by employing social media as its major tool to bring about transformation in the sector.

    The goal of the partnership, Ibekwe-Umelo said, is to promote  insurance awareness in Nigeria through popular participation to increase insurance sector’s contribution to the GDP from 0.6 per cent to three per cent by the end of 2016.

    The group said it was alarmed and concerned that over 79 per cent of micro enterprises in Nigeria do not have any form of insurance protection. Given this development, the group said there was need to urgently mobilize micro enterprises through micro-insurance awareness to enhance productivity as well as ensure overall economic growth.