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Tag: pension

  • Nigerian pension funds soar to N4.98tr

    Nigerian pension funds soar to N4.98tr

    The  total  value  of pension  industry  assets  under  the  Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)  as at July 31, has risen to about 4.98  trillion.

    The figure sprang from an average monthly contribution of N20 billion and 30 per cent annual growth rate.

    This was revealed in a report obtained by The Nation from the National Pension Commission.

    PenCom Director-General, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu
    PenCom Director-General, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu

    This pool of pension funds, according to the report, is a potential platform for attaining the  transformation agenda of Federal Government in the provision of infrastructure, energy, employment generation and the real sector of the economy.

    The total number of registered participants in the CPS stood at 6,631,539 employees in the period under review.

    A breakdown of the report showed that the public sector accounted for a proportional contribution of   48.69    per cent,    while   the   private    sector accounted for the balance of 51.31 per cent.

    The report said the CPS has simplified the process of payment of retirement benefits through the issuance and implementation of effective regulations  and guidelines.

    It read: “The  regulation  requires  employees   to commence   the  process of  accessing   their  benefits  six  months  before  the  date  of their  retirement. This allows for smooth transition  into retirement life as retirement benefits are currently paid as and when due.”

    Meanwhile, a total of 111,756 workers have retired under the CPS. While  90.41 per cent of the retirees opted for Programmed Withdrawal method of collecting periodic pensions including those, who retired on   health  grounds, 9.59 per cent went for annuity.

    The report, however, noted some challenges of the Scheme, which include compliance and enforcement, extending coverage to the informal sector and self-employed, dearth of investible financial instruments,

    “The issue of compliance among the small sized private sector employers remains a critical challenge in the implementation of the CPS.   These organisations see the CPS as additional cost to their operations and are not willing to implement the scheme.

    “The  informal  sector  and  self-employed   persons   lack  a coherent structure  and  have  an unwieldy  composition,  which  renders  their integration   into the  new scheme  a difficult task.  Policy issues like contribution  rate,  mode   of collection   and enforcement in the informal sector are still being addressed by the Commission.

    “The  need  to  broaden  the  universe   of  investible  instruments for pension  fund investment is of importance in the presence of the continuous growth of  pension funds. Similarly, the  drive  for  tax efficient laws that would  promote   the  introduction  of alternative assets  is critical  in the  Commission’s  effort  to ensure  the  safety and sustainability   of pension  funds  and assets,” the report said.

    On prospects of the scheme, The Commission stated that the enactment and signing into law of the Pension Reform Act 2014 would assist in addressing various stakeholders’ concerns and other problems that confronted the  implementation of the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    “Also, as  part of the efforts to enhance compliance with PRA 2014 and to ensure that stakeholders understand the workings of the CPS, the  Commission would scale up its enlightenment campaigns across different segments of the country. These would include participation  in workshops,  seminars,  and advocacy  programmes to address identified challenges in the implementation of the CPS.

    “The Commission would continue to fine tune its risk-based supervisory approach in the discharge of its supervisory and regulatory functions. In this regard, PenCom has deployed and implemented a Risk Management and Analysis System (RMAS), which allows  off-site  examination of pension operators as well  as generate timely industry reports.

    “The Commission employs dynamic investment monitoring procedures that focus on risk issues as they affect the investment portfolios of pension funds. This is backed by support activities toward the development of new financial instruments and deepening the financial market.

    “Thus, plans are in the pipeline to introduce multi-funds, investment in infrastructure fund and bond as well as  real estate. In order to ensure successful implementation of these programmers, research capabilities are being enhanced in investment and risk management,” the report further said.

    The Commission disclosed that various strategies are being implemented to ensure compliance with the  provisions of the PRA 2014, especially by private  sector organisations.

    The Commission said as a way of enforcing compliance, it has come up with a stricter regime of sanctions.

    In the same vein, recovery agents have been appointed to recover unremitted pension contributions and interest penalty from private sector employers.

    In addition, the requirement for Certificate of Compliance from companies soliciting contracts from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Federal Government has   contributed immensely to the improved compliance by private sector employers.

    On the implementation of the scheme in the states, the report showed that 21 states have enacted laws on the CPS while 14 states are at various stages of adopting the scheme.

    One state is, however, yet to commence any action towards implementing the CPS, the report said.

  • PenCom holds global pension summit

    THE second edition of the world pension summit ‘Africa Special’, scheduled to hold on October 5 and 6 at the congress hall of the transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja, will provide a platform for pension regulators and operators in Africa to prepare for the challenge of positively contributing to the socio-economic growth of the continent. It will also ensure that retirement benefits are paid as and when due, Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.
    Mrs Anohu-Amazu made this known at the World Press Conference of the 2nd Edition of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’ at Zen Garden held in Lagos.
    The PenCom DG also announced that the Commission will also launch a new logo.
    She said this year’s summit, which has as its theme: “Building sustainable pension systems in Africa’’, would attract diverse experts across the world in the areas of investment, infrastructure financing, real estate and other pension-related fields.
    In line with the theme of the summit, she said they have painstakingly selected a number of sub-themes that they feel would resonate with all stakeholders in furthering the objective of enhancing pension administration in Africa.
    She said: “You will agree with me that Africa, today, faces huge infrastructure challenges and pension funds, as long term capital, are ideally suited for investment in infrastructure.
    “However, infrastructure financing is still a major challenge for most African countries despite the availability of huge aggregate of pension funds. The plenaries on “The Real Deal: Structuring Pension Investments for Sustainability’’ and Expanding Investment Frontiers for Pension Funds’’ both aim to address the issue of sustainability in the investment of pension funds and the frameworks that need to be developed to achieve wider scope for investment of pension funds.
    “Not much has been achieved so far in Africa in the area of micro-pension plans. It is, therefore, appropriate to focus attention on the huge opportunities that exist in this area to encourage African countries to take bold steps to come up with suitable and innovative pension plans that would adequately cater for the needs of informally employed individuals.”
    She explained that the plenary on “Prospects for Micro Pension Plants in Africa’’ is designed to share experiences of countries such as India and Kenya, which have made significant advances in pensions for the informal sector, adding that the Commission has introduced Africa pension awards into the worldpensionsummit ‘Africa special’.

  • Key challenges of Nigerian Pension Industry and possible solutions (1)

    Nigerian Pensioners have high expectations on the new Government to ensure an effective implementation of pension regulations existing in the country. These expectations arise from the need to have sustainable standard of living in retirement and their benefits paid as at when due.

    The different pension regimes operating in Nigeria, Defined Benefit (DB) and Contributory Pension (CPS) Schemes, give rise to varying set of problems that limit the capacity of key stakeholders within the Nigerian pension industry to meet pensioners’ expectations.

    This paper highlights the key challenges facing the stakeholders in the pension industry and the possible solutions from an actuarial perspective. In broad terms, the challenges arising from different areas of pension management include but not limited to the following: Transitional Pension Management, Guaranteed Minimum Pension, Additional Voluntary Contributions, Pension Protection Fund, Investment Guidelines, Public Education and Enlightenment.

    Transitional Pension Management

    Key Challenges

    The current problems that beleaguered pensioners from Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) defined benefit (DB) scheme in Nigeria (which have always been to the fore) include, inter alia:

    • Delayed or non-payment of pension entitlements and misappropriation of existing pension funds.
    • Low standard of living (or high poverty incidence) among pensioners due to pension increases not in line with salary inflationor no pension increase at all.
    • Too frequent verification of pensioners by Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD)(section 42 of PRA 2014) leading to pensioners dying during verification exercises.
    • Inadequate Enforcement of Pension Regulation– Over 10 years of existence of CPS, not all State Governments had enacted their pension Laws to establish CPS which is a sign of regulatory weakness. The actuarial valuations of the old DB schemes required by PENCOM at the point of implementation of the new CPS have not been carried out even for those State Governments that have already established their CPS.

    Possible Solutions

    The establishment of PTAD and various penalties for pension funds mismanagement introduced by PRA 2014 would address some of the lingering challenges of pensioners in the public service pension administration in the country.

    However, below are other ways to address the problems described above:

    • Create pensioners’ biometric database that is suitable for future actuarial valuation, demographic and financial projections, which would also eliminate ghost pensioners.
    • Adopt a pragmatic approach to pensioners’ biometric verification process (a system of self-verification by pensioners capable of automatically updating the pensioners’ database) having conducted an initial face-to-face verification in order to minimize the frequency of subsequent face-to-face verification exercise.
    • An automation of pension/gratuity calculation and payment system to ensure that pension increases are implemented on a timely basis relative to increase in workers’ salaries and also allowing pensioners to receive their pensions/gratuities as at when due. The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for the Federal public service should be emulated at the State and local Government levels,
    • A periodic actuarial valuation of the old DB pension scheme as required by law needs to be carried out in order to ascertain the value of the pensioners’ liabilities at a given date as the scheme runs off. This will enable a realistic annual pension budget estimate to be made for the Government(s) which will reduce the insufficient funds being allocated for pension payment. This would help in the administration of PTAD in minimizing the delays and arrears in pension payment.
    • PTAD should set up a realistic pension stabilization fund (to be invested) with the primary aim to stabilize the pension/gratuity payment system which is always in arrears. This will ensure that money is readily available to pay the arrears of pension liability.

    In summary, the relevance of professional actuaries and information technology experts cannot be ignored in the implementation of the above suggested solutions.

    Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP)

    Key Challenges

    The guaranteed minimum pension (GMP), which will be specified from time to time by PENCOM, is a provision for protecting all retirees who have not accumulated enough to have a decent standard of living in retirement (Section 84(1) of PRA 2014). Thus, it is anincome support from the government, which can act as a safety net for pensioners.

    The modalities for implementing GMP are yet to be finalized by PENCOM for more than 10 years of its existence. This may be due to the computational complexities involved in determining the GM that require actuarial techniques which might not have been considered important.

    Possible Solutions

    The assessment of the level of GMP including the cost of guarantee requires stochastic modelling techniques, a task under the control of an actuary whose services PENCOM should obtain on a regular basis.

    Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)

    Key Challenges

    There is lack of valuation of an individual member’s DC plan (individual projectionsof likely pension benefit at retirement) by PFAs with a clear objective to measure sustainable retirement income (using metrics such as replacement ratio which represents a sensible estimate of the standard of living in retirement) before allowing an individual to make his/her choice of AVC. The concept of replacement ratio provides an effective connection between the accumulation and de-accumulation phases of a DC plan member’s life cycle.

    With the exception of tax benefit, there is also no incentive for additional savings (AVC) towards retirement, particularly where there is a GMPto be funded by the Government. Thus, there are relatively small RSA balances of some retirees pending the implementation of GMP. This results in a growing sense of disenchantment with the token monthly pension benefit being received by pensioners under the new CPS relative to the huge gains (from investment returns and dividends) the Pension Fund Administrator (PFAs) are currently making.

    The above arises from the expectation that all returns on invested funds belong to contributors (employees) except for the minimal fees/chargesexpected for the pension operators. The lack of frequent review of fees/charging structure (including the stipulated fees by PENCOM representing the maximum amounts) chargeable by operators and possible non-disclosure of hidden charges, interests and commissions accruable to pension assets might also be the cause of above dissatisfaction.

    Possible Solutions

    The fees/charging structure needs to be constantly reviewed by PENCOM in order to eliminate any hidden charges in order to increase the RSA balances.

    There is also a need for sensitization of potential benefits to workers in making AVC having considered the expected living standard in retirement.

    • Dr. Pius Apere (PhD / FCII) is Deputy Managing Director

    Linkage Assurance Company PLC

  • Premium Pension assets hit N370b

    Premium Pension Limited, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) has recorded pension assets in excess of N370 billion and pension enrollees spread in over 1000 organisations across the country, the company’s Managing Director, Wilson Ideva has said.

    He made this known in an interaction with reporters in Lagos. He highlighted the greater role of the media in the consolidation and improvement of pension industry gains and the importance of premium pension contributions.

    He said the company has paid out over N87 billion to over 33,000 retirees or their next-of-kin as entitlements since 2007, adding that the Company maintains well over 600,000 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).

    Ideva said Premium Pension has already been firmly established as a key player in the new Contributory Pension Scheme. He said: “It is important to note that Premium Pension has consistently posted return on investment of pension asset well above industry average and above inflation.

    “It is important to note that Premium Pension has been paying out monthly pension to retirees on the 19 of every month. Our retirees have attested to the fact that even when they were in active service they never received their monthly salaries on that date. While we continue to pay monthly pension, our return on investment has continued to outstrip the amounts paid.  This has led to agitations for payment of additional lump sum and, or increase in monthly withdrawal, which shows the evidence of the huge success that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been.

    “Professionalism in pension service rendition at Premium Pension is complemented by the Company’s adoption of the robust Canadian Pension Administration Software (CPAS). We are partnering with this organisation to ensure continued cutting edge service delivery. All the relevant staff members operating this software have been adequately trained in Canada by CPAS.

    “The company is run by young Nigerian professionals and a wholly Nigerian board of diverse background and competencies. With a view to facilitating its operations and enhancing customer service and interaction, Premium Pension recently introduced a mobile application known as The Premium Pension Mobile.

    This is in response to the evident need for devices that would further close the gap between the company’s operations and its customers on the one hand and the customers and their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) on the other.

    He, however, said that the major challenge facing the CPS in Nigeria is lack of adequate public awareness, stressing that lack of awareness is even noticeable among the supposedly enlightened in the society. He said the situation is an offshoot of the initial skepticism that greeted the pension reform in 2004.

     

    “The old scheme had virtually collapsed; accumulating a deficit of more than N2 trillion and cases of corruption were rampant. The word ‘Pension’ as a consequence acquired a pejorative connotation.

    “It is against this backdrop that pension operators are now saddled with the responsibility of clearing this cobweb of ignorance about the workings of the new scheme. Premium Pension Limited has been consistent in the call for increased public awareness on the scheme.”

    While he pointed out that the media has contributed to the success of the Scheme, he said the CPS requires increased public awareness drive to be able to further extend the gains of the industry. He noted that the new pension scheme has gone through the teething stages and has come to stay.

  • Unfunded US pension debts exceed $3tr

    It’s well-known that there’s a huge financial hole in state-sponsored retirement plans for public employees, a hole that states will eventually have to fill with tax increases and spending cuts.

    There is, however, still considerable debate as to the size of this government debt owed to public employees. In July 2015, the Pew Charitable Trusts released their latest issue brief, reporting that as of 2013, the nation’s state-run retirement systems had a $968 billion funding gap GPS +0.00 per cent, not far from the “Trillion Dollar Gap” they reported in 2010.

     

    The Gap is Actually Bigger

    As serious as this sounds, the true magnitude of unfunded pension promises for the systems tracked by Pew is much larger. The system of measurement and budgeting for public pension promises has fallen prey to one of the fundamental fallacies in financial economics: undervaluing a risk-free stream of promised cash flows by assuming that the promises can be met with high, anticipated returns on smaller pools of risky assets.

    When I correct the calculations to reflect the expectation of public employees that these promises will be honored, the market value of unfunded liabilities proves to be far larger: $3.28 trillion (as of 2013). Moreover, this figure excludes local government obligations such as those of U.S. cities and counties.

    Pew collects its information from state government disclosures. Its 2013 data suggest that, across 237 state-level pension systems, there were $3.43 trillion of liabilities backed by $2.47 trillion of assets. In other words, this implies a net gap GPS +0.00% of around $1 trillion.

    These liability measures are far too low. They are based on state assumptions of high assumed returns on risky asset portfolios: the median assumed return was 7.75% (and the liability-weighted average 7.66%). The funding gap amounts to a mere $1 trillion only if the public plans can achieve these high compound annualized returns over the horizon during which these benefits must be paid. Yet governments have promised to pay the pensions regardless of what happens to the pension investments. As such, pension promises should be treated like the senior government debt they are, akin to default-free government bonds.

     

    Recommended by Forbes

    For a proper financial market valuation, the promised pensions should first be adjusted to reflect only accrued benefits, or retirement payments that employees would be entitled to receive under their current salary and years worked. This is not how governments do it today, but my 2011 paper with Robert Novy-Marx did this recomputation for most of the plans in the Pew study.

     

  • Bayelsa, Bauchi, Oyo, others yet to remit pension

    Bayelsa, Bauchi, Oyo, others yet to remit pension

    •Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Niger lead CPS

    •Oyo State Gov. Abiola Ajimobi
    •Oyo State Gov. Abiola Ajimobi

    Twenty-three  state governments out of the 36 states in the country including Bayelsa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, and Edo states are yet to begin the remittance of pension contributions into the Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) of their employees as at the end of the first quarter of this year, The Nation has learnt.

    They are also yet to start funding of their Retirement Benefit Bond Redemption Fund Accounts (RBBRF) and yet to provide Group Life Insurance for their employees as required under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the Pension Reform Law, 2014.

    This means that employees of these states may not get their pension benefits as and when due after retirement and are not insured.

    Other states that have not remitted contributions, funded RBBRF nor provide Group Life for their employees are Cross River, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kebbi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

    This was contained in the National Pension Commission (PenCom) First Quarter Report on ‘Level of Compliance with the CPS by State Governments’.

    According to the report, only Lagos, Osun, Niger and Rivers are fully compliant with the law as they have remitted pension contribution, funded their RBBRF and insured their employees.

    Balance in RBBRF account of state governments as at January this year shows that Lagos State had remitted N10 billion, while Ogun, Niger and Rivers had remitted N1.43billion N9.10billion and N3.10 billion respectively into their RBBRF as at the end of the quarter under review.

    The report further showed that while six state governments have begun the funding of their RBBRF into RSAs account, only eight out of the 36 states had commenced remittance of contributions into the RSAs of their employees as at the period under review.

    The report noted that 26 state governments have enacted laws on the CPS, while the remaining 10 were yet to pass their bills into law.

    Imo State is yet to begin remittance of pension contributions too however, Imo State University is currently implementing the CPS under the auspices of the PRA 2014. The state is yet to fund the RBBRF and yet to provide Group Life Insurance for its employees.

    Jigawa State has however transferred pension assets to six PFAs for management while Kano State is yet to transfer its pension assets.

    The report however clarified that Jigawa and Kano states did not implement Group Life Insurance Scheme because they are currently implementing the Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme, which does not require the institution of Group Life policies for employees.

    Section 4 of the PRA 2014 states that every employee to whom the act applies shall maintain an RSA in his name with any PFA of his choice.

    The employer shall deduct at source the monthly contribution of the employee and not later than seven working days from the day the employee is paid his salary, remit an amount comprising the employee’s and employer’s contributions to the Pension Fund Custodian (PFC) specified by the PFA of the employee.

    The PRA states further that any employer that fails to deduct or remit the contributions within the time stipulated shall in addition to making the remittance already due, be liable to a penalty to be stipulated by the Commission.

    The penalty shall not be less than two per cent of the total contribution that remains unpaid for each month or part of each month the default continues and the amount of the penalty shall be recoverable as a debt owed to the employee’s retirement savings account as the case may be.

  • Ambode warns parastatals against non-remittance of pension

    Ambode warns parastatals against non-remittance of pension

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, has warned parastatals  against withholding pension remittances of their employees, saying government would not tolerate the practice.

    He said such practice will be at variance with the provisions of the state’s pension reform law, adding that the resultant effect of the non-conformity by agencies is that many employees of the state would retire without any provision made for the payment of their terminal entitlements.

    Ambode, who spoke while presenting retirement bond certificate of N2.27 billion to 658 retirees, said the retirement bond certificate indicates the accrued pension rights, made up of gratuity and pension entitlement for active service rendered before the commencement of the contributory pension scheme in April 2007.

    He said the state is aware of the fact that despite government’s commitment to setting aside funds to meet accrued pension rights obligations, there is a backlog of retirees, especially in the local governments and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), who have retired but have not been able to receive their terminal entitlements.

    He said government is looking into why some parastatals have outstanding liabilities ‘’but in the immediate term, we will bring smiles to the faces of the retirees’’.

    Giving a breakdown of the pension liabilities paid, he said: “Today, we have a total number of 230 retirees from 12 state government parastatals whose pension rights we have already credited into their retirement savings account.

    “A total liability of N761.8 million is now being absorbed by the state government on behalf of these retirees.

    “For retirees in the state, local government and SUBEB, have a total of 428 retirees already have accrued rights for a N.5 billion credited into their RSAs.

    “In essence, for the 18th batch retirement bond presentation ceremony, on a total 658 retirees, we have expended the sum of N2.27 billion.”

    Ambode said the state’s employees  are the greatest assets; hence, the state’s commitment to not only ensuring that they enjoy good conditions of service, but to also ensure that their entitlements are paid promptly after their exit from service.

    He noted with satisfaction that since the inception of the contributory pension scheme in the country, Lagos has continued to be in the forefront of ensuring efficient and effective pension scheme administration.

    “This administration is a people oriented government. We understand that you have spent the better part of your lives in service of this state and you deserve to live in peace and comfort in retirement.

    “This is why we took a decision to address outstanding pension matters in the whole of Lagos state public service. We are looking into why some parastatals have outstanding liabilities but in the immediate term, we will bring smiles to the faces of the retirees.

    “We are very resolute in forging ahead with the contributory pension scheme. With the mechanism for guaranteeing the safety of fund contributed in place by the regulatory agencies, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) remains one of the finest things democracy has bequeathed on Nigerian workers,”Governor Ambode said, assuring that the scheme is sustainable as it meets the challenges of past pension scheme administration which, being non-contributory, relied totally on budgetary allocations of government.

    Ambode revealed that the state has also taken a holistic view of issues that concern all retirees in the its public service and gave assurances that all retirees in the state that are yet to have their entitlements paid will, very soon, live a life of financial empowerment because they have a right to live in comfort at retirement having utilised the better part of their active lives serving the state government.

    Since April, 2007, the Lagos State government has consistently on a monthly basis, funded the retirement bond redemption fund account with an amount equal to five percent of the total monthly personnel cost of the active workers.

     

  • ‘Our award is for Pension’

    The Award for Mass Mobilisation of Pension Asset conferred on Premium Pension Limited at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Awards is an imprimatur of the Chamber on the strides made by the  pension industry, in translating the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) into a huge success, Managing Director, Premium Pension, Wilson Ideva, has said.

    Ideva, who made this known after the presentation of the awards in Lagos, said the N4.9 trillion secured as pension assets in the new pension scheme, represents the tremendous success that is possible when interpretation and translation of government policies is private- sector-driven under strict regulatory guidelines and supervision.

    He said: “It is the collective effort of the entire industry stakeholders that has resulted in the humongous amassment of pension assets in the country through the new Contributory Pension Scheme,’’ shortly after the presentation of the awards at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

    “The N4.9 trillion  secured as pension assets in the new pension scheme represents the tremendous success that is possible when interpretation and translation of government policies is private sector-driven under strict regulatory guidelines and supervision.

    Ideva praised the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for their high sense of commitment and professionalism demonstrated from inception in the regulation and supervision of the pension industry.

    “By my own estimation, PenCom is the most effective regulatory body on the continent of Africa. The result of their manifest professionalism and high sense of commitment is what we are celebrating today.

    “ Premium Pension Limited is one of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) operating the Contributory Pension Scheme and currently manages over 600,000 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs). Managing pension asset put at over N370 billion, the company has paid out more that 87.3 billion Naira to 33,785 retirees or their next-of-kins since 2007. “Pension enrollees under the company’s management are spread over 1000 organisations across the country while the company has consistently posted impressive returns.

    “According to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Annual Commerce and Industry Award is to recognise, promote and celebrate public and private institutions operating in Nigeria for best business practices, growth through innovation, business sustainability and positive impact on people.

    “The metrics for selecting awardees included but not limited to corporate governance, level of disclosure, wealth creation, levcompliance with set standards and positive impact on society.

    Ideva also seized the opportunity to commend the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for their high sense of commitment and professionalism demonstrated from inception in the regulation and supervision of the pension industry.

    “By my own estimation, PenCom is the most effective regulatory body on the continent of Africa,” he said.

    “The result of their manifest professionalism and high sense of commitment is what we are celebrating today,”  he added.

    Premium Pension Limited is one of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) operating the Contributory Pension Scheme and currently manages over 600,000 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs). Managing pension asset put at over N370 billion, the company has paid out more that N87.3 billion to 33,785 retirees or their Next-of-Kins since 2007. Pension enrollees under the company’s management are spread over 1000 organisations across the country while while the Company has consistently posted impressive returns.

    According to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Annual Commerce and Industry Award is to recognise, promote and celebrate public and private institutions operating in Nigeria for best business practices, growth through innovation, business sustainability and positive impact on people.

    The metrics for selecting awardees included but not limited to corporate governance, level of disclosure, wealth creation, level of compliance with set standards and generally positive impact on society, Paddy Ezeala Head, Corporate Communications, said.

    The company’s Executive Director, Operations and Services, Mr. Kayode Akande, said driving the CPS requires exemplary synergy among operators and cooperation among stakeholders, especially in generating public awareness on how the scheme runs.

    “There is practically nothing anybody can do alone in ensuring the success of the CPS” he said. “We all have to work together and we are already doing that.” It is the collective effort of the entire industry stakeholders that has resulted in the humongous amassment of pension assets in the country through the new Contributory Pension Scheme” said Mr. Wilson Ideva, the Managing Director of the company shortly Kayode Akande stated that driving the CPS requires exemplary synergy among operators and cooperation among all stakeholders, especially in the area of generating public awareness on how the scheme runs. “ He said that there is practically nothing anybody can do alone in ensuring the success of the CPS. He said: “We all have to work together and we are already doing that.

     

  • Stanbic IBTC Pension is best Pension Fund Manager

    Stanbic IBTC Pension is best Pension Fund Manager

    Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), has been named the Best Pension Fund Manager  in the Global Banking & Finance Review Awards.

    The awards, which were instituted in 2011, recognises achievements and innovations by companies in the global financial community, cutting across banking, Islamic finance, hedge funds, asset and wealth management, real estate, and corporate social responsibility, among others.

    Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Dr. Demola Sogunle, said since the firm opened its doors nine years ago, its aim is to set higher standards in service delivery and ensure that their retirement savings account holders are well served as well as derive maximum value from their investments.

    He said the company is quite honoured to receive such a distinguished award showcasing its flagship role in nurturing the growth of Nigeria’s pension industry.

    Sogunle said as industry leader, the PFA would innovate and help to enhance industry best practices.

    He said part of this includes creating awareness about the benefits of retirement savings and helping workers plan for that eventuality.

    Sogunle disclosed that the company boasts of over one million retirement savings account (RSA) holders and assets under management in excess of N1 trillion, paying approximately N1.8 billion to almost 30,000 retirees monthly.

    He added that over N180 billion has been paid to retirees since the PFA commenced operations in 2006.

    He said: “Among innovations introduced by the PFA to enable clients experience excellent and convenient service delivery are the Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers mobile office; the first 24-hour multilingual call centre manned by personnel who speak the three major Nigerian languages – Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa; as well as Pidgin English.

    “A footprint of over 200 branches of Stanbic IBTC Bank where RSA clients can access pension service; Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers’ regional offices; as well as selected branches of Zenith Bank PLC. Other access points include Stanbic IBTC Bank ATMs, online service for RSA holders, email, SMS and the Pension Notes, which accompany hardcopy RSA statements sent to customers quarterly.”

    Stanbic IBTC Pension is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, which is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.

    Standard Bank Group is 151 years old and is based in 20 African countries.  Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC provides the financial services in three areas – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management.

  • Ambode approves N11b for pension arrears

    Ambode approves N11b for pension arrears

    Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode has approved N11 billion for payment of pension arrears from 2010.

    The news of the approval was contained in a statement by the Head of Service, Mrs. Shade Jaji.

    The statement said the money would be used to pay the pension liabilities of the state mainstream retirees as well as those of local governments and parastatals.

    Mrs. Jaji added that the money was part of efforts put in place by the administration to find solution to payment of pension entitlements to retirees under the “Pay As You Go Pension Scheme”, which was discontinued in April 2007, and outstanding accrued pension rights due to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    The Head of Service said the state government had developed “a comprehensive payment plan to resolve outstanding pension issues in the immediate (short), medium and long terms”.

    Under the short and immediate term plan, she said pension payments to ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) and parastatals, including local governments and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), which would be made monthly, start from this month.

    She added that the measures were the “outcome of painstaking deliberations by the Public Service Pensions Office, the Lagos State Pensions Commission, the Head of Service and the empathy of Ambode to reduce, if not totally clear the outstanding liabilities due to retirees in the state’s mainstream public service, local government/SUBEB and parastatals”.