All Posts in "Pension"
Leadway Pensure wins overall performance of PFA in W/A
By Favour Nnabugwu
Leadway Pensure PFA Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), has been named West Africa’s Most Outstanding PFA Brand of the Decade at the 2023 edition of the West Africa Brands Excellence Awards.
The award organisers recognised the leading PFA for its tenacious and extraordinary accomplishments, efficient service delivery, industry dominance, and customer satisfaction, through innovative and bespoke product portfolio, to its varying customers for over a decade across West Africa.
Speaking on the significant achievement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Leadway Pensure PFA Limited, Lanre Idris, stated that the award adds to the potpourri of recognitions received by the brand for its stellar, unparalleled commitment and exceptional delivery of superior financial solutions to its customers.
“This award is a testament to the brand’s DNA and corporate culture hinged on sustained and impeccable service delivery, cutting edge and technology-driven pension solutions targeted at actualising the possibilities for ultimate customer satisfaction.
“Over the years, Leadway Pensure PFA envisioned delivering unrivalled pension services and financial security in retirement beyond the shores of our immediate community. This recognition is a validation that we are progressing in the right direction to steer the course gradually and tenaciously toward African dominance in the pension space. This is an unflinching commitment despite volatile economic realities on the continent and globally. We remain resolute in prioritising operational excellence and generating enviable investment returns for our customers.
“I commend our team for their tenacity, leadership, and excellence in ensuring that our promises to various stakeholders become realities. Riding on the famous assertion that the reward for hard work is more work, I will like to remind the team that this is also a clarion call to not relent but continually push the boundary for phenomenal outcomes”, he added.
Before this recognition, the brand has received multiple awards, such as “Africa’s Most Impactful Pension Fund Administrator of the Year 2022 by Africa Fintech Brands Innovation Awards 2022”, the “Innovative Pension Fund Administrator of the Decade by Marketing Edge Awards, and Summit 2022”, and the “Most Preferred Pension Fund Administrator of the Year 2022 by International Standard Excellence Award.
The West African Brand Excellence Awards are organised yearly by the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria (IBMN) to recognise businesses’ extraordinary accomplishments in the year under review across the sub-region.
Leadway Pensure P.F.A., an associate company of Leadway Group, is a leading pension administration and fund management company for value-driven aspirational individuals, corporate organisations, and federal and state institutions. Leadway Pensure P.F.A. is built on exceptional expertise and transparency, enabling the organisation to deliver simple, coherent, efficient, and outstanding financial services to clients and stakeholders.
69,889 registered new as RSAs in Q4 2022
By Favour Nnabugwu
A total of 69,889 new Retirement Savings Accounts, RSAs were registered at the quarter ended 31 December 2022, according to National Pension Commission (PenCom)
“A total of 69,889 new RSAs were registered and the associated PINs issued to employees in different sectors, in the quarter ended 31 December 2022,” PenCom stated.
PenCom noted that the breakdown of new registrations into the CPS by age and gender within the quarter showed that out of a total of 69,889 registrations, about 84 per cent or 58,948 of them were below 40 years of age. stressing that out of this number, 31,836 or 45 per cent were below 30 years of age.
PenCom stated that 84 per cent of Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registration in the fourth quarter 2022 are below 40 years, an addication that the younger generation are actively being enlisted into the Contributory Pension scheme (CPS)
PenCom noted that 42,404 or about 61 per cent of those that registered during the quarter were males, thus sustaining dominance over the female gender in terms of registration into the scheme.
In all of these, five PFAs collectively held about 57 per cent of the 69,889 RSAs registered in the quarter under review
PenCom also analyses the distribution of RSA registrations across PFAs in the fourth quarter 2022, revealed that Stanbic IBTC continued to maintain the largest market share of 23 per cent with 16,006 new registrations, followed by ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited which had 10 per cent market share with 7,312 new registrations, while Leadway, Sigma and Premium PFAs followed with 9 per cent, 8 per cent 7 per cent market share respectively.
NANS confers Awards on DG PenCom, inducts her into Hall of Fame
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Director-General (DG) of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has received accolade from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) through her professional service and purposeful leadership in the pension industry was inducted into the Association’s Hall of Fame.
NANS also conferred on Mrs Dahir-Umar the NANS Merit Award for her contributions to national development and support for young people and students.
Speaking during the award ceremony held in Abuja at the weekend, the Senate President of NANS, Comrade Attah Felix Nnalue said NANS Merit Award is presented to individuals whose lives exemplifies the ideas of living for the sake of others and dedicate themselves to national building and service to humanity.
Comrade Nnalue said the induction of Mrs Dahir-Umar into NANS Hall of Fame and the presentation of NANS Merit Award to her were in line with the resolution of the 68th Senate Meeting of NANS held on 25 January 2023 at the University of Abuja.
He Commended the Director General for her hard work, exemplary lifestyle, contribution to nation building and the advancement of the pension industry.
Mrs Dahir-Umar has been part of the journey to reform pension administration and management in Nigeria. Under her leadership as the Director General, PenCom has attained significant milestones in its diligent implementation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 through the successful conclusion of several critical initiatives.
Pension fund assets have been on a sustained growth trajectory, increasing from N6.15 trillion in 2016 to N14.99 trillion as of December 2022. Similarly, the number of registered pension contributors grew from 7.41 million to 9.86 million over the same period.
The launch of the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2019 was another significant step under her towards the promotion of financial inclusion for self-employed persons and workers in the informal sector. In November 2020, PenCom launched the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Transfer System (RTS).
The system is an in-house developed computer application that enables a pension contributor or retiree to switch from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another. Activating the RSA transfer provision was another essential milestone she recorded in implementing the CPS that has been on the drawing board since the advent of the Pension Reform in 2004.
She also implemented the maiden Pension Enhancement for CPS retirees in December 2017. This initiative enhanced the monthly pensions of most retirees on the programmed withdrawal based on significant incomes earned from investment.
In 2021, the Director General oversaw the recapitalisation of PFAs. As a result, all PFAs raised their Shareholders’ Funds from N1 billion to N5 billion. In 2022, the Commission issued the Guidelines on Accessing RSA Balance Towards Payment of Equity Contribution for Residential Mortgage by RSA Holders. This innovative policy will enable workers to own residential houses while in active service.
PFAs plan massive investment in infrastructure this uear
Pension funds stand at N14.99trn – PenCom
By Favour Nnabugwu
National Pension Commission, PenCom’s latest ‘Report on pension industry portfolio for the period ended 31 December 2022’ revealed that Pension fund had risen from N13.42 trillion to N14.99tn by the end of December 2022.
Contributors in the scheme rose slightly by 333,002 from 9,529,127 as of the end of 2021 to 9,862,129 in the corresponding period
According to the figures, N9.64tn or 64.33 per cent of the assets was invested in the Federal Government of Nigeria’s securities, N1.66tn was invested in corporate debt securities, N1.98tn was invested in money market securities and N82.8bn in mutual funds among other investment portfolios.
In the 2022 third quarter report of the pension industry, the Director-General, PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar, said despite the overwhelming head-winds in the global economic climate and the country’s challenging macroeconomic environment, the pension fund assets under management increased.
“This laudable performance, in the growth of the AuM, points to the fact that the pension industry will continue to deliver value and benefit to its stakeholders and the nation’s economy,” she said.
During the period under review, the director-general, said PenCom steadily pursued increased diversification of pension fund portfolios by ramping up efforts aimed at ensuring sustained investment of pension fund in alternative asset classes and structured infrastructure projects that meet the stringent requirements as enshrined in the regulation for the investment of pension fund assets.
She said PenCom’s efforts at diversifying investments of pension funds and hedging against inflation had gradually begun to yield results.
According to her, efforts were on going to ensure that the annualised average rates of return of pension funds across Retirement Savings Account and legacy funds were above headline inflation rates.
She said, “Perhaps, the most significant achievement recorded in the third quarter of 2022 was the successful issuance of guidelines on accessing RSA
“Balance towards payment of equity contribution for residential mortgage. The guidelines give effect to Section 89(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which allows eligible RSA holders to apply a percentage of the balances in their Retirement Savings Accounts for payment of equity contribution towards residential mortgage for employees of the public, private and the informal sectors.”
She stated that the achievement in the Nigerian pension industry could not have been possible without the right people, strategy, culture and governance structures that supported the delivery of consistent and sustained value for all its stakeholders
PenCom approves increase of retirees’ monthly pension from next Month
Oguche Agudah, Salamotu Isah for 4th African Pension & Retirement Summit in Dubai
CAPTION:
L- Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Oguche Agudah and Kaduna State Pension Bureau, Prof. Salamatu Idris Isah
By Favour Nnabugwu
Anthonia Smart, wife of Tope Smart is dead
By Favour Nnabugwu
The insurance and Pension may have be thrown into a sober mood with the death of the wife of the 47th president of Africa Insurance Organisation and the 23rd Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, NIA, and the Group Managing Director of NEM Insuranc, Mr.Tope Smart.
PenCom rated top among CBN, NDLEA, DSS – CCSN
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Conference of Civil Society of Nigeria (CCSN) has identified the National Pension Commission (PenCom) as one of the top performing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria.
The CCSN who rated PenCom among top performing MDAs like the Department of State Services (DSS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a letter was signed by the CCSN’s Chairperson, Comrade Adams Otakwu, and two other members of the coalition, John Ogar and Acheme Arumona said PenCom “has become synonymous with positive, transparent and goal-oriented pension administration in Nigeria,” the letter intimated President Buhari.
The CCSN, which is a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) crusading for good governance and transparency, said PenCom “stands out as one of the most ambitious financial inclusion programmes targeted at the Civil Society and the informal sector of any developing economy in the world.”
The CSOs disclosed this in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari dated 19 December 2022.
The coalition observed that PenCom embodies “a welcome departure from the humongous corruption and inhumane treatment of our pensioners, that was the stock in trade prior to the current dispensation.”
The letter stated that PenCom, since 2019, has recorded phenomenal reforms of global reference.
“These include the extraordinary rise of pension assets and Retirement Savings Accounts, enhanced contributory registration system, payment of outstanding pension liabilities, recovery of outstanding pension contributions, increase in Minimum Share Capital for Pension Fund Administrators, and effective implementation of the Micro Pension Plan, which coopted the Civil Society into the pension scheme and has greatly enhanced our productivity and well-bring.”