The Nation Newspaper

Tag: savings

  • Resort Savings optimistic on mortgage financing

    Resort Savings & Loans Plc has expressed optimism that increased awareness about mortgage financing will enhance its prospects and enable it to meet expectations of its stakeholders.

    In a statement, Managing director, Resort Savings & Loans Plc, Mr. Abimbola Olayinka the bank would continue to create more awareness on mortgage financing as part of efforts to drive volume in the housing sector.

    According to him, the bank had been able to bridge the gap in housing deficit nationwide by its efforts as it has so far created over 4000 housing units in the last couple of years.

    He said the bank will continue to pursue the goal of addressing the housing needs of Nigerians.

    He expressed the willingness of the bank to ensuring that more Nigerians have access to affordable housing through provision of additional housing units with the backing of Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

    “The bank will continue to create more awareness on NMRC mortgage. We believe an increase in awareness will increase the patronage of our mortgage refinancing through Banks. Many Nigerians don’t know they could build houses through mortgage finance without necessarily having all the money at once. Our vision is to provide affordable and decent accommodations to Nigerians. We are not relenting in this drive. We want to be at the vanguard of solving the accommodation problem in Nigeria,” Olayinka said.

    He noted that the bank’s plan was to make available the housing units in the Lagos, Abuja andOgun state axis through mortgage; these according to him include the current development of 3 Bedroom semi-Detached duplexes at  Ikorodu , Lagos and 2 & 3 bedroom bungalows at Mowe Ofada, Ogun State.

    He stated further that in the bank’s bid to strengthen its position in the Mortgage sector, it is partnering with a lot of developers on either financing their project or providing mortgage facilities to the off- takers at affordable interest rates through NMRC scheme.

    Giving an insight into the existing and ongoing projects and partnership with developers,Olayinka said,, ’’the bank has  been able to fund housing estates including;  the Teju Royal Garden Estate in Okokonmaiko which has over 900 housing units, The Dream vile Estate,Owode-Ibese, Ikorodu Road, Dabis Royal Estate off Allen Avenue Ikeja, South-Drift in Lekki , Gracious Gardens. “

    Other ongoing projects for mortgage financing facility in the other parts of the country are also available to meet the yearnings of Nigerians.

  • Pensioners seek upward review of returns on savings

    Pensioners seek upward review of returns on savings

    Subscribers to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are seeking an upward review of the returns on their investment (RoI).

    Those making the call are retired public servants whose salaries are usually low compared to their counterparts in the private sector.

    A pensioner, who retired as a Director from a Federal Government ministry, Mrs Aduloju, is not happy because what she is receiving as pension under the scheme is not enough to meet her basic needs unlike when she was still in service and earning salary.

    She wants the RoI reviewed by Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    She said: “I retired in 2013 after serving for 33 years. I am receiving a monthly pension of between N50,000 and N70,000 from my last salary of N450,000 as a director.

    “I think the system should be reviewed because we are getting so much less. The old pension scheme was very clear because you know what you will get as pension based on your number of years in service.

    “By a certain formula, you will know how much you are getting as your gratuity. It was very open. Now we are told that there is a template. What is the template? And if after service of 33 years I am getting N50,000 or even N70,000 per month from my last salary of N450,000 as a director and with the Nigerian situation, it is nothing to sustain me.

    “The old pension scheme paid better, but it is the human factor problem associated with it that did not make it work as it should have.  The new scheme is paying us less and this should not be the solution to pension adminstration in the country. I believe it should be reviewed so that pensioners could begin to receive more as this would encourage workers to look forward to retirement.”

    Another Federal Government pensioner, who also craved anonymity, lamented that what she gets is not enough to cater for her needs in old age.

    The woman, who retired in 2010 after 35 years, said: “If PenCom and PFAs (Pension Fund Adminsitrators) really want us to be happy after retirement, they should find a way of ensuring that we get good return on our investment.

    “How do they want us to survive on this stipend they are paying? I earned N400,000 before I retired as a senior public servant and now they are giving me N50,000. Suppose I live for 30 years before I die, it means all I get after retirement is N1.5 million. This is not a fair deal,” she said.

    A senior official in PenCom who spoke with The Nation on investments said the reason some ex-workers earn low pension is because many of them request to have their PFA pay them over 50 per cent lump sum from their Retirement Savings Account (RSA).

    This reduces the amount they will receive as monthly or quarterly pension because they have received a huge part of the money as a lump sum, he said.

    He advised retirees to take a low lump sum so that their monthly pension can sustain them.

    He, however, noted that the commission was working on mechanisms to enable the PFAs invest outside the country with guarantee that contributors pension would be safe.

    He added that this and some other issues were being considered to boost returns for contributors.

    According to the General Principles in the ‘Guidelines on Regulation of Investment Of Pension Fund Assets’, PFAs shall invest pension fund assets with the objectives of ensuring safety and maintenance of fair returns; shall recruit and retain highly skilled personnel in their investment departments; shall not invest Pension Fund Assets in instruments that are subject to any type of prohibitions or limitations on the sale or purchase of such instrument, except for open/close-end/hybrid funds and specialist investment funds allowed by this Regulation.

    “PFAs shall not trade on margin accounts with pension fund assets, shall not engage in borrowing or lending of pension fund assets and shall not trade in financial instruments with pension”.

  • Obama offers retirement savings plan for workers

    President Barack Obama offered more Americans the chance to save for retirement through payroll deductions with a plan for new government-sponsored savings accounts.

    The accounts, which Obama announced in a State of the Union Address that concentrated on expanding economic opportunity, will be available to workers who don’t have access to a 401(k) plan, administration officials said.

    The “MyRA” accounts, similar to an individual retirement account, will provide “a new way for working Americans to start their own retirement savings,” Obama said in the text of the speech released by the White House.

    Under the initiative, workers would be allowed to have a portion of their pay deducted for deposit into an account invested in U.S. government bonds that would be treated for tax purposes as an individual retirement account, administration officials said.

    The accounts, set up through the Treasury Department, would have a maximum balance after which money would have to be rolled over into an IRA, the officials said.

    The officials project that millions of Americans will take advantage of the savings accounts.

    “This isn’t earth-shattering stuff,” said Brian Graff, the chief executive officer of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. “But it is a step in the right direction to get more people saving for retirement, which I would think is a bipartisan issue.”

    Existing authority

    Obama can establish the savings program under existing executive authority without new legislation, the officials said. He will announce details of the plan tomorrow.

    “I don’t expect this to get a lot of pushback,” said Graff, who discussed the proposal in advance with Treasury officials. He said it draws on an existing program that permits workers to purchase U.S. savings bonds through payroll deductions and adds “a retirement twist.”

    The proposal resembles an earlier Obama administration plan that would have required employers to offer an automatic IRA option to employees. That plan, which was included in Obama’s 2014 budget, would have cost the government an estimated $17.6 billion in foregone revenue over 10 years.

    About 68 percent of U.S. workers had access to retirement benefits as of March, last year, with 54 percent participating, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Company reaction

    “Although we don’t have the details yet, Vanguard is generally supportive of expanding savings opportunities for those not covered by a workplace retirement plan,” Linda Wolohan, a spokeswoman for Vanguard Group Inc., said in an e-mail.

    Wolohan declined to comment further before hearing the specifics of Obama’s proposal. Vanguard was the second-largest manager of 401(k)-type assets in 2012 behind Fidelity Investments, according to researcher Cerulli Associates.

    Fidelity, which is also the largest provider of IRAs, declined to comment before hearing the speech, according to an e-mail from spokeswoman Eileen O’Connor.

  • Stanbic IBTC promotes early savings

    Stanbic IBTC promotes early savings

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings commemorated the Children’s Day by deploying its senior personnel in some schools in Lagos to teach pupils the value of financial planning and savings.

    In a statement, the bank said its objective was to assist the gain knowledge skills and confidence that would enable them to make responsible financial decisions on how to start saving money for future needs.

    sAmong issues discussed during the sessions were developing educational savings plans, budgeting, keeping money safe, and application of mobile money solutions.

    The bank said the initiative, which is an integral part of the group’s corporate social investment goals, is focused on helping the students embrace financial planning and a savings culture.

    Participating schools where the volunteers taught were Corona School Gbagada, Methodist Girls High school, Yaba, Lagos Progressive Schools, Surulere, Kings College, Lagos, Corona School Ikoyi and Corona School, Victoria Island.