All Posts in "Pension"

All RSAs to go for data recapturing with PFAs – PenCom

By Favour Nnabugwu

All Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders  are to partake n the ongoing Data Recapture Exercise (DRE) with their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) as advised the National Pension Commission, PenCom.

The DRE is in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government that all data generating organisations should harmonise their databases with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). It
is also consistent with the need to have a credible database of all RSA holders in Nigeria.

The commission in a statement said the exercise was  for both active contributors and retirees whose data have not been recaptured.

Consequently, the PenCom urged all active contributors to visit their PFAs and provide the following documents to complete the data recapture: Staff Identity Card or any one of the following: National Driver’s License; or Permanent Voter’s Card; or International Passport (mandatory for non-Nigerians). Enrollment Slip issued by NIMCB; irth Certificate or Sworn Affidavit of Age Declaration. 

For retirees, who are either on programmed withdrawal or annuity, the Commission said they were expected to present the following documents:

National Driver’s License or any one of the following: Permanent Voter’s Card; or  International Passport (mandatory for non-Nigerians) Enrollment Slip issued by NIMC
and Letter of Retirement issued by the employer to the retiree.

All RSA holders, who have had a name change (either their surnames or first names or both after registration), they should present the following documents to their PFAs: Marriage Certificate (only applicable in the case of marriage); Newspaper publication for change of name; Sworn affidavit; Confirmation letter for change of name from employer (if still in employment)

All PFAs have been directed by PenCom to issue Acknowledgement Slips to RSA holders who submit complete documents for their data recapture. The RSA holders will be notified of the status of their data recapture (successful or not successful) within five working days of submission of documents.

Two agents, Payone Solution Systems Limited and Afritech Multi Concept Limited, have been engaged by PFAs to carry out the DRE consistent with PenCom’s approval. The agents are authorised to establish data recapture centres. RSA holders are allowed, therefore, to have their data recaptured at such centres by the agents (if they are unable to visit the offices of their PFAs).

Patoma Admin by — May 12, 2022 in Pension 0
May Day: Masari approves N1.5bn for retirees, promise more funds

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari announced the approval of N1.5 billion for the payment of benefits to those who retired from the state civil service between 2019 and 2020.

The said retirees are currently undergoing screening and verification exercise.

He assured that his administration will continue to inject more funds into payments of retirees benefits in the state to restore hope to those who put all their youthful years working towards the development of the state.

Masari gave the assurance while addressing workers in the state on the occasion of the 2022 May Day celebration held at the conference hall of the state’s local government service commission.

According to the Katsina Governor, the thrust of his restoration agenda is about taking and implementing measures that will give people of the state a brighter future.

Masari said so far, his administration is achieving this goal “through the many people oriented policies such as S-Power and the general improvement of welfare for the working class.”

He further noted that despite the dwindling resources, his administration has granted approval for the recruitment of 5,461 number of staff across all sectors to replace those who left the service.

The Katsina Governor also said he has granted approval for the replacement of 1000 teaching staff under SUBEB, 200 staff under the Judiciary as well as recruitment of 217 state indigenes under PHCA to effectively manage the state’s primary health care centres.

Masari urged workers in the state to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring a positive attitude, loyalty, commitment and dedication to work.

 

 

 

 

Patoma Admin by — May 2, 2022 in Pension 0
20 PFAs meet recapitalisation of N5bn each as @ April 27, 2022

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Not less than 20  Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) operating in the country have met the N5billion recapitalisation requirement as at April 27, 2022.

The figure was disclosed by the National  Commission (PenCom) in a statement released made it clear that the 2p PFAs have complied with the Commission’s directive for the increase of the Minimum Regulatory Capital (Shareholders’ Fund) from N1 billion to N5 billion.

It will be recalled that the Commission had approved the recapitalisation exercise for the PFAs with a 12-month transition period from 27 April 2021 to 27 April 2022.

The exercise became expedient as the value of pension fund assets under management and custody had grown exponentially by 244 per cent, from N3 trillion in 2012 (when the previous recapitalisation was done) to N12.29 trillion (as at December 31, 2020).

PenCom noted that the sustained growth in assets implies greater fiduciary responsibilities that require more operational capacity by the PFAs. The urgent need to ramp up PFAs capacity to manage the increasing number of registered contributors and value of pension fund assets under management led to the exercise.

It is worthwhile to state that 10 PFAS had met the new regulatory capital requirement of N5 billion as at 31 December 2021, while the others intensified efforts to meet the deadline of 27 April 2022. This resulted in some mergers and acquisitions, which led to the reduction of the number of PFAs from 22 to 20, it stated.

The Commission approved the acquisition of AllCO Pension Managers Limited by FCMB Pensions Limited; and the merger between Tangerine Pensions Limited and APT Pension Funds Managers Limited and subsequent change of name of the merged entity to Tangerine APT Pensions Limited. In addition, the With the conclusion of the recapitalisation exercise, stakeholders, particularly RSA holders, should expect increased effectiveness and efficiency as well as improved service delivery from PFAS.

Commission also approved Norrenberger’s acquisition of IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Limited, after its acquisition of the majority shareholder, IEI PIc.

Patoma Admin by — April 30, 2022 in Pension 0
Pensioners block Abia govt house, protest 38 months of pension arrears

By Favour Nnabugwu

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Pensioners in Abia State have blocked the main entrance gate to the Government House Umuahia today to protest 38 months of pension arrears.

The senior citizens who chanted anti-Government songs accused Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of being unserious with the welfare of pensioners.

They carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as:” No payment of gratuities since 2002″; ” Abia pensioners are dying”; ” Why is Abia Govt.so wicked”, among others.

Addressing Government officials who received them on behalf of the Governor, the Coordinator of Concerned Abia Pensioners, Chief Emeka Okezie, decried the plight of pensioners in the state.

He accused the state Government of toying with the welfare of pensioners some of who he said had died untimely.

According to him, an average of 15 pensioners die every month in Abia due to economic hardship and lack of adequate medical care.

He identified their grievances as: 38 unpaid monthly pension; non harmonization of pensions from 1998 to 2010; and unpaid accumulated gratuity for 20 years.

” We have been dehumanised and subjected to unimaginable suffering as death toll ranges to about 10 to 15 pensioners every month”, Chief Okezie lamented.

The pensioners, however, commended the State Commissioner for Finance, Chief Aham Uko who they said made spirited efforts during his first tenure in office to pay pensioners regularly.

They regretted that after about one year of sustained regular payment, Government reverted to the old order of indebtedness for reasons unexplained.

Responding on behalf of the Governor, Commissioner for Finance, Aham Uko, thanked the senior citizens for their comportment and assured them that Government was making efforts to clear the arrear of pension.

He blamed Government’s inability to pay pensioners regularly on the global economic downturn, an excuse that did not go down well with the pensioners as they retorted.

The Finance Commissioner also blamed ghost pensioners for the delays, disclosing that Government has uncovered and removed 4422 fake pensioners from the system.

According to him, gratuities accruing to the fake pensioners amounted to N6billion.

He assured that having weeded such number of irregular pensioners, payment of pensions will be consistent.

” We are consciously making efforts to see you are paid irrespective of the situation in the country”, he said.

He said that before the end of the week pensioners in the state would get paid as the banks had been directed to pay them.

Patoma Admin by — April 27, 2022 in Pension 0
Lagos State to seal construction sites without a professional, evidence of insurance policy

By admin

 

The Lagos State Government has warned that any construction site without the presence of at least a professional and evidence of insurance policy will be sealed off .

The sanction will commence site by site inspection to force compliance.

This is part of the state government’s efforts to stem the tide of building collapse in the construction sector.

This was made known by the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Oki, when he gave audience to the Association of Real Estate Developers of Lagos State (AREDOLS) in Lagos, warning developers and property owners in Lagos to abide by the building codes of the state or face the full wrath of the law.

Arc. Oki in his address to members of the association warned that, henceforth, all developers must ensure that buildings conform to requirements of the law such as engagement of building professionals – Architects, Engineers, and Builders – during building projects in order to ensure the stability of buildings.

He said, “The Agency will begin site by site inspection to compel compliance and any site without the presence of at least a professional will be sealed off and the developer will be highly sanctioned.’’
The General Manager further said that the General Contractor All-Risk Insurance Policy must be taken seriously as the relevant unit of the Agency has been fully activated to intensify enforcement and seal off any building site, above two floors, that does not have evidence of the policy on demand.
Oki maintained that the names of all artisans working on-site, including iron benders, welders, bricklayers, carpenters, and others must be provided on demand with their respective passport photographs while all concrete works have to be assessed by Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory and the test results submitted to LASBCA as applicable.
He also warned developers to desist from harassing and obstructing State officials while carrying out their legal duties, insisting that the dastardly act would attract serious sanctions, including prosecution.

Patoma Admin by — April 24, 2022 in Pension 0
N32.68bn withdrawn from RSAs by 131,376 retired workers – PenCom

By Favour Nnabugwu
A whopping N32.68 billion was withdrawn from Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) of Retired Savings Accounts (RSAs) by 131,376 retired workers with less than N550,000 in their accounts.
Figures from the National Pension Commission, PenCom shows the latest figure of 131,376 retirees is a 14.4 per cent increase from 114,837 retired workers who withdrew N28.46 billion as of the end of June 2020.
Between June 2020 and December 2021, the number of retirees rose by 16,539 who withdrew N4.12 billion, according to PenCom.
It also shows that some foreign nationals returning to their countries withdrew their savings before they left Nigeria.
Pension Reform Act 2014 says any worker with less than N550,000 in his RSA is expected to be given the entire amount by the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and subsequently allowed to quit the pension scheme
.PenCom decried the attitude of employers that deduct monthly contributions from workers’ emolument but fail to remit such to their RSAs with their respective PFAs.
It said it retains the services of recovery agents for the retrieval of outstanding pension contributions and penalties from defaulting employers.
The Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOP) said: “If the employer and employee have contributed consistently over this period of time, then the funds in that individual’s RSA account would be sufficient to have a decent lump sum with enough funds remaining to earn a decent pension for life.
“As a matter of fact, what we need to promote, and the pension industry is leading on that, is to encourage more workers to add to their statutory deductions while working, as this would enable them to shore up their balances over time.
“What we need to advocate more is the consistency and discipline in the contributions that will even remove the need for any large lump sum payout when retired.
“If a worker were to save N20,000 consistently every month for 15 years with an interest rate of 10 per cent per annum compounded for the 15 years, at the end of the period, he would have amassed over N16 million.
Patoma Admin by — April 24, 2022 in Pension 0
FAAN pensioners barricade agency’s gate over CPA implementation

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) pensioners on Tuesday barricaded the entrance to the agency’s regional headquarters in Ikeja over what they described as management’s inability to implement of Consequential salary /Pension Adjustment (CPA)

Displaying various placards, the pensioners have vowed to remain at the gate FAAN hindering movement

The FAAN management had promised to start the payment of the CPA in March but has not met its obligations

The secretary of NUP FAAN branch, Comrade Emeka Njoku while addressing the pensioners accused the FAAN management of being insensitive to their plights as senior citizens

He said the current management of FAAN compounded their issues by paying workers first before pensioners, saying that pensioners were paid first before workers by the past management

An implementation committee was set up comprising two members of NUP, two representatives of the director of finance FAAN, a representative of the audit department and three from the human resources and administration directorate to draw up a template for the Consequential salary /pension adjustment as concrete evidence, provide evidence of progress implementation from various directorates within two weeks in March 2022

Based on this development, the NUP which had earlier threatened protest across the country’s airport decided to suspend it.

Njoku then told journalists that series of meetings were held between them and the management of FAAN without positive results

In September 2021, FAAN management agreed to commence payment in January 2022 but failed to meet up. With this, the NUP gave ultimatum to FAAN to pay on or before 1st March 2022 and a meeting was brokered while the protest was shelved.

It was then agreed that by the end of March that the issues will be resolved but FAAN did not meet up with the agreement

In his solidarity speech, the general secretary of Association of Aviation Professionals (ANAP) Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu said there were so many deceit in the system accusing the human resource department of FAAN for not telling workers the real situation of condition of Service

Saidu, noted that the absence of board of directors for aviation parastatals has been the greatest problem of the agencies

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Pension 0
Pension assets rose by N340bn in two months

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme gained N340bn in two months and rose to N13.76tn as of the end of February. 2022

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) made this known in its latest report, titled ‘Unaudited report on pension funds industry portfolio for the period ended 28 February 2022; Approved Existing Schemes, Closed Pension Fund Administrators and RSA funds (Including unremitted contributions @CBN & legacy funds).’

The funds, which ended December 31, 2021, at N13.42tn, rose to N13.61tn as of the end of January 2022.

The data showed that N8.51tn of the total funds was invested in Federal Government securities, comprising bonds and Treasury Bills, in February.

Other investment portfolios where the funds were invested include domestic and foreign ordinary shares; corporate debt securities comprising corporate bonds, corporate infrastructure bonds, corporate green bonds, and supranational bonds.

PenCom also stated that the total number of workers with Retirement Savings Accounts rose slightly to 9,589,721 as of February ending from 9,529,127 as of the end of December 2021.

Patoma Admin by — April 4, 2022 in Pension 0
Pension fund assets hit N13.61 trn

By Favour Nnabugwu
The nation’s pension fund assets rose significantly by N183.8 trillion increase within a month, from N13.42trillion in December, 2021 to N13.61 trillion as at the end of January 2022.
The fund in January 2022 was N12.29 trn but dropped to N12.24 trn in February, following the drop in yield in the bonds market where the pension fund administrators have about 60 per cent of the pension fund invested.
In March 2021, the fund rose to N12.33 trillion, gaining N92 bn while it gained a further N58 bn in April to stay at N12.39 trillion even as it soared by N95 bn in May, 2021 to put the pension fund assets at N12.49 trn.
By June, the fund had grown to N12.65 trn, N165 bn in the process even as it recorded N123bn growth in July to stay at N12.78trn.
The pension fund assets rose to N12.90 trn in August, having gained N120 bn, while it pulled N101 bn gains in September, 2021 to stay at N13 trn.
The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, stated that the growth in the pension fund assets under the new pension scheme, was an indication of prudent and sincere management of the pension fund by the pension operators and the regulator.
According to her, “The maintenance of a consistent growth trajectory continues to justify the Commission’s overriding investment philosophy of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets”.
Patoma Admin by — April 2, 2022 in Pension 0
Stanbic IBTC PFA CEO, Olumide Oyetan, new president of PenOp

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has elected Olumide Oyetan as its new president for the next two years

Olumide takes over from Wale Odutola; the Chief Executive Officer of ARM Pensions

Olumide, who also the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC PFA was elected unanimously by his colleagues to emerge as the new president of the umbrella body of all Pension Fund Administrators in the country

In an online ceremony, Olumide, while accepting the new office, thanked the outgoing President for passing on the baton and for all the work done during his tenure. He promised that the incoming Executive Council will consolidate on all the previous work done.

He also pledged to work in the interest of the industry, continue to promote the good work the industry was doing and proffer solutions to the challenges around pensions in the country.

The new president further stressed that his administration will be counting on everyone’s support to take the industry to the next level.

Other Executive Council members sworn in were: Joy Ojakovo (General Manager Progress Trust CPFA) elected as Vice President; Dapo Akisanya (CEO Tangerine Pensions PFA) elected as Head of Technical Committee; Godson Ukpevo (CEO Veritas Glanvills PFA) elected as Head of Legal Committee; Oloruntimilehin George (CEO First Pension PFC) re-elected as Treasurer and Idu Okeahialam (CEO Access PFC) elected as Head of Branding Committee.

Speaking on the change in leadership, the CEO of PenOp, Oguche Agudah said “This shows the commitment of the organisation towards continuity and sound Corporate Governance, while being committed to self-regulation.

‘The new leadership will continue to work together to towards ensuring that ultimately, the pension industry positively affects the lives of millions of Nigerians, Ogudah added

Patoma Admin by — April 1, 2022 in Pension 0