Why the Retirement Crisis Isn’t As Bad As You Think-Nikelle Murphy

Are your retirement savings on track? | Source: iStock

Americans are notoriously bad savers. Many of us don’t have enough money to cover a $500 emergency, and we’re putting off buying a house to avoid the down payment or drowning in credit card debt. And that’s just to cover the day-to-day costs, to say nothing of planning for the future.

Many Americans are also known to put off saving for retirement until their golden years — and then those years become much less shiny when we realize we haven’t saved enough to fund a decade or so of leisure. That’s why many people might end up working until they’re 80, or indefinitely. However, the stereotypes about saving for retirement don’t always ring true. While we still have a long way to go, a recent survey from Bankrate shows that people are taking retirement seriously, and doing what they can to start a nest egg.

Retirement savings: Are we improving?

It’s never nice to feel like an underachiever, especially when it comes to saving your money. However, it looks like some people are finally making headway when it comes to boosting their nest eggs. According to recent Bankrate findings, 21% of people are saving more for retirement compared to last year. Only 5% of people aren’t saving anything for their golden years — a record low since the survey began six years ago.
In 2011, following the wake of the financial crisis, the number of people saving less for retirement were nearly double that of people who were saving more compared to the year before (29% saving less compared to 15% saving more). This year, that dynamic is switched, with just 17% of people saving less for retirement

Factors for increasing savings

Savings | Source: iStock

Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, Greg McBride, said the positive statistics are likely a result of an improving economy, in which people are earning more money and feeling more secure in their future career prospects. “We have seen that people have reprioritized saving ever since the financial crisis,” McBride told The Cheat Sheet in an interview. “What’s really hamstrung people in terms of moving the needle with retirement savings in particular is stagnated household income.” 

Now that we’re seeing incomes increase, McBride said it isn’t a surprise to see nest eggs grow as well.
In addition, more employers have begun to initiate automatic enrollment programs for their 401(k) accounts, along with automatic savings escalations. When people are automatically enrolled, and their retirement savings automatically increase each year, more people tend to stay in the program and save more than they might have initiated on their own. The one caveat to this, McBride said, is that most increases cap out around 6%, but it’s recommended that people should be saving 10-15% of their income in retirement accounts.
“Automatic enrollment and escalation primarily help those that otherwise might not be saving at all,” McBride explained. “People need to be taking it upon themselves to get to 10-15% consistently. A 3% contribution is nothing more than a token contribution.”

Lingering problems with retirement savings

Making a savings plan | Source: iStock

That jump to significant retirement savings continues to be an issue, McBride said. While the increasing savings is a good sign, he’s not completely optimistic about seeing that continue to increase over the long term. “People are saving more for retirement,” he said. “That’s good news. But that’s not to say that they’re saving enough.”

Younger Baby Boomers are a particular concern from the most recent survey. According to the results, 30% of people ages 52 to 61 saved less for a post-work life this year compared to last year. Though that could be from a number of factors, McBride said they’ve also seen the least job security among member of that age group. Younger boomers could be saving more in an emergency fund in case they lose their jobs, instead of amping up their IRA.
However, that’s a problem for McBride. That time of life is during peak earning years, and people should be taking advantage of catch-up contributions, where they can add more to their retirement accounts than was previously allowed. Those years should be focused on setting themselves up for living on a fixed income, not putting on the savings brakes. “To see people scaling back is troubling,” McBride said.

Trying to save money | Source: iStock

In addition, people of all age groups still aren’t anywhere near the 10-15% mark most experts recommend for retirement savings. “We want more people increasing the amount that they save for retirement each year. Going from 3% to 4% isn’t going to cut it,” McBride explained. According to some earlier polls, McBride said that most retirement accounts are around 7% of incomes on the high end. Another poll showed that people were only saving 10% of their incomes for all savings goals — not just retirement. 
Part of the issue goes back to the American DNA and propensity to spend instead of save, McBride added. Some improvement is happening at the margins, but McBride doesn’t see ingrained habits being overcome anytime soon. To do the heavy lifting for retirement savings on their own, it’s going to be a much harder road. “It’s not been a paradigm shift. For a lot of Americans, that’s exactly what it’s going to take,” he said. 

Culled from Money & Career Cheat Sheet

Customs fire four deputy comptrollers, 25 other senior officers-Rasheed Bisiriyu and Anna Okon

Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd)

Less than a week after sacking 17 junior officers, the Nigeria Customs Service on Thursday announced the dismissal of 29 senior officers, including four deputy comptrollers and five assistant comptrollers.

Others affected in the latest purge are seven chief superintendents and four superintendents of customs. Ten other officers were retired from the service.

According to a statement signed by the Customs’ Deputy Comptroller/Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, the 29 senior officers were sacked for various acts of gross misconduct.

He said the dismissed senior officers were among the 44 officers who were punished for actions capable of compromising national economy and security.

The officers affected were said to have been involved in unlawful acts such as improper examination and release of containers without proper documentation and payment of duties; illegal release of goods before the arrival of vessels; fraudulent sale of seized items; and use of fake certificates and bribery to secure auctioned goods or release prohibited items.

The statement explained, “All the officers were served with queries indicating the offences committed before they made appearances before the Special Investigation Committee.

“The committee’s recommendation was discussed and approved by the Customs management. The recommendation was thereafter referred to the Presidency for ratification in the absence of a substantive Board of the Nigeria Customs Service. All the officers affected in the exercise have been communicated accordingly.

“The comptroller-general warned officers that punitive sanctions will continue to be used to discipline officers who refuse to embrace change.”

The NCS had said the 17 junior officers earlier dismissed committed offences ranging from drug addiction to certificate forgery, theft and absence from duty.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ali (retd), has called for the reduction in the number of auto assembly plants given licences to operate in Nigeria through mergers and consolidation.

Ali’s view, which was presented at a forum in Lagos organised by the Automotive and Allied Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, however, differed sharply from the position of the National Automotive Design and Development Council.

“The NCS is of the opinion that 44 assembly plants are too ambitious and the reality is that the economy will not be able to sustain them,”the Customs boss said.

But the Director, NADDC, Dr. Lukman Mahmud, disagreed with Ali on the issue, stressing that the licensing of the auto assembly plants followed due process.

According to him, the high number of automakers showing interest in the venture was an indication of their confidence in the Nigerian economy, adding that the investors should be encouraged and supported.

Mahmud and other speakers at the event, including Prof.Okey Ikeduru of the Arizona State University, United States; and Dr. Andrew Nevin of PricewaterhouseCoopers, stressed the need for regular review of the nation’s auto policy and patronage of locally assembled vehicles by the government and private firms as well as individuals in order to ensure the success of the programme.

Punch

ExxonMobil sells 60% stake in Mobil Oil Nigeria to Nipco-Taofik Salako

ExxonMobil Oil Corporation has executed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Nipco Plc to sell its majority equity stake of 60 per cent in Mobil Oil Nigeria (MON) Plc to Nipco Plc, an indigenous oil and gas company.

Mobil Oil Nigeria and Nipco confirmed the agreement yesterday. Mobil Oil Nigeria, which is required as a quoted company to make such disclosure, filed the notification of the divestment at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday.

Under the deal, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation will sell its majority equity stake of 60 per cent to Nipco Investments Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nipco Plc. The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals. However, such divestment deals, including sales by Oando of its downstream assets, have received clearance from the regulators.

While all the parties were silent on the details of the SPA, The Nation’s check indicated that ExxonMobil will transfer 16.357 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to Nipco. The current market value of the 60 per cent equity stake is N40.24 billion. Mobil Oil Nigeria is valued at N67.07 billion at the NSE, with its total issued shares of 360.6 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each closing yesterday at N186 per share.

Formerly known as IPMAN Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (IPMCL), Nipco was incorporated by members of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on January 8, 2001 as a private limited liability company to participate in the distribution of white petroleum products business in Nigeria.

Managing director, Nipco Plc, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy, said the SPA marks the beginning of a six-month transition period for the effective takeover of the downstream oil giant.

He said the parties have initiated the process of obtaining regulatory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and NSE adding that the transition period will also enable Nipco to effectively manage a smooth and successful completion of the transaction.

“Nipco, considers this acquisition an important synergy. It is part of our strategic move to support Nipco’s continuous growth and expansion of its Nigerian retail footprint. We are confident of adding tremendous value to MON and likewise MON will add a huge value to Nipco. In furtherance of this value addition, Nipco will continue to maintain the Mobil brand on its retail outlets as well as continue to blend and sell the Mobil brand of lubricants under Branding Licence(s) from ExxonMobil,” Venkatapathy said.

According to him, Nipco would justify the confidence repose in it by ExxonMobil for selecting it as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of MON and Nipco will continue to ensure full brand compliance with ExxonMobil’s global standards as well as rigorously sustain and follow ExxonMobil’s code of conduct, ethos and operational excellence.

“MON will continue to run as a separate, distinct and independent company ,from Nipco Plc .Each with its own chief executive officer .Each chief executive officer will report to its board of directors,” Venkatapathy stated .

According to him, in addition to giving the employees much needed assurances on their job safety, Nipco’s goal is to increase presence and efficiency by expanding MON’s retail footprint to a minimum of 300 by December 2017 and make it a vibrant one.

Venkatapathy noted that Nipco’s expansion trend reinforces its implicit confidence in Nigeria’s future pointing out that the Nigerian economy still provides a robust and premium return on investment and Nipco is privileged to have been given this opportunity by ExxonMobil on its home ground.

“To our shareholders and stakeholders, we say welcome to a new dawn. A new era that will usher in stability, prosperity, sustainability and growth,” Venkatapathy assured.

Mobil Oil Nigeria was incorporated as a private limited liability company in 1951 and converted to a public limited liability company in 1978. Its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1979. Mobil Oil Nigeria is a subsidiary of Mobil Oil Corporation of the United States of America, which holds 60 per cent equity stake.

Source: The Nation

Starvation, disease killing pensioners in Imo – NUP By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI — The Chairman, Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries of Imo State, Chief Hyacinth Onyekwere, has cried out for help, as hunger and disease is depleting their ranks

Chief Onyekwere, who made the lamentation while addressing the press yesterday in Owerri, also disclosed that “from November 2011 till date, 12 retired permanent secretaries have died as a result of non-payment of their stipends to enable them feed and buy their medications.”
He expressed shock at the way “the state government is intentionally dehumanizing retired civil servants by refusing to pay them their pensions.”
Onyekwere recalled with grief that only a paltry fraction of a month’s pensioners entitlement was recently paid, out of between 16 to 70 months owed different categories of pensioners.
On the use of traditional rulers in the administration of pension matters, Onyekwere regretted that Sub Treasurers who possess the expertise have been relegated to the background.
Contributing also, the State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Chief Gideon Ezeji, fumed that over 30 percent of pensioners were omitted during the last payment exercise.
“As at October 2016, the state government is owing civil service pensioners 20 months pension, retired permanent secretaries 20 months, retired primary school teachers 30 months and retired local government pensioners 21 months,” Ezeji said.
Continuing, Chief Ezeji said that Imo Broadcasting Corporation pensioners are owed 40 months and Alvan Ikoku College of Education 75 months, before it was taken over by the Federal Government.
The post Starvation, disease killing pensioners in Imo – NUP appeared first on Vanguard News.

Culled from Nigeria Today

Ex-police pensions boss steals N24bn, buys 22 houses Akinyemi Akinrujomu Yesterday 23262 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send email – Ex-director of Police Pensions Esai Dangabar has been accused of buying 22 houses from N24bn stolen from the pension funds – EFCC investigator and witness at the court Mustapha Gadanya said the commission has traced how moneys were moved in accounts Share on Facebook Share on Twitter police pension Men of the Nigerian Police Force An witness has told a high court in Abuja that former director of Police Pensions Esai Dangabar moved N24bn into different accounts and bought 22 houses in the Federal Capital Territory alone. The witness, Mustapha Gadanya, who was presented at the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the case against Dangabar, said investigations showed that N320m was deposited in Skye Bank between May 2008 and July 2009 for his companies, Marine Logistics and leisure Integrated Ltd. READ ALSO: Deputy governor robbed at gunpoint by his own bodyguard Gadanya is one of the investigators in the case against Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Veronica Onyegbula, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang and Christian Madubuke that are standing trial for complicity in the over N24bn scam in the police pension office. Punch quoted News Agency of Nigeria as reporting that that between February 2009 and June 2010, the manager of a bank in Jabi helped the Dangabar to launder about N840m. READ ALSO: Arrested Judges in BIG trouble as Nigerians flood SSS with petitions against them He also revealed that Dangarbar owns 16 duplexes at Wuyi District and six flats at Efab in Abuja. The properties he said had been forfeited temporarily to the Federal Government. The judge, Justice Husseni Baba-Yusuf, adjourned the trial till Thursday (today) for continuation of hearing. Meanwhile, the Acting director general/executive secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate Murtala M.O has cautioned pensioners on the activities of fraudsters who contact pensioners claiming to facilitate the payment of their pensions for a fee. He made the remark while commenting about the gains of the First National Retreat on Pension Administration in Nigeria, organized by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service in July, 2016.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/1007150-wont-believe-ex-police-pensions-boss-abuja-stealing-n24bn.html

N24bn police pension scam: ‘How Dangabar laundered funds’

Dangabar Source: EFCC Facebok

An Economic and Financial Criminal Commission witness, Mr. Mustapha Gadanya, on Wednesday told an FCT High Court how a former Director of Police Pensions, Esai Dangabar, moved funds into different accounts while in office.
Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Veronica Onyegbula, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang and Christian Madubuke, are standing trial for complicity in the over N24bn scam in the police pension office
Gadanya, who was part of the team that investigated the matter, in his testimony, told the court how Dangabar deposited some money in accounts in different banks.
Led in evidence by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witness said that the bank analysis revealed that Dangarbar fixed some amount in the bank to yield turnover
He said that about N320m was deposited in Skye Bank between May 2008 and July 2009 for his companies, Marine Logistics and leisure Integrated Limited.
Gadanya told the court that the roll over accrued for him amounted to N249.8m and N241m, respectively which was later sent to the Federal Government after it was discovered.
He informed the court that between February, 2009 and June 2010, the manger of Syke Bank, Jabi branch, helped the first defendant to launder about N840m.
Gadanya said the first defendant was also discovered to be the Managing Director and the sole signatory of Damule Nigeria Limited, the company his son was listed as director.
The witness told the court that Dangarbar’s 16 duplexes at Wuyi District and six flats at Efab, in Abuja, had been forfeited temporarily to the Federal Government.
The judge, Justice Husseni Baba-Yusuf, adjourned the trial till Oct. 13 for continuation of hearing.
NAN in Punch

Government's 'draconian' pension reforms have backfired, experts warn, as OBR says changes will cost billions- Kate McCann and Katie Morley

George Osborne announced the changes when he was Chancellor Credit: Reuters TV/Reuters TV

George Osborne's pension reforms will backfire and end up costing the taxpayer billions of pounds more every year as people stop saving for their retirement, the official Treasury watchdog has warned.
The Office for Budget Responsibility said the removal of tax relief on pensions for higher earners - billed as a move to save money - will ultimately end up costing the Exchequer £5 billion a year.

The watchdog warned that higher earners will move their money to tax efficient investments and may even drive up property prices as a result of the ill-thought through policy.

 

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The Government controversially cut the amount people can save in a pension to £1m through their lifetime. The annual allowance was also cut to £40,000 - despite cuts in interest rates and stock market returns which combined to decimate the value of life savings.
The move was condemned by business groups and pension experts at the time who said it would deter millions of people from saving.
Theresa May is now under pressure to reverse the policy in the forthcoming Autumn Statement after the OBR warned it would also undermine public finances in the future.
Tom McPhail, head of pension policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The Government urgently needs to rethink its savings policies.

Savers are shunning pensions Credit: Telegraph

"In the short term fiscal changes such as the lifetime allowance cap at £1m will save it money, however in the longer term the package of various measures such as the pension freedoms, the increased Isa limits and the secondary annuity market will result in a worsening of public finances.
"Investors will simply substitute more tax advantaged products such as the Isa for the pensions where they fact the lifetime allowance cap." The OBR's analysis looked at a series of cuts to tax breaks on pensions savings for high earners since 2010, together with the impact of George Osborne's new pension freedoms.
The Government has reduced the annual pension allowance, the amount people can put into their retirement pots before they have to pay tax, from £255,000 in 2010 to £40,000.
It has also cut the lifetime allowance from £1.8million to £1million today.
Over a million middle to high earners including teachers, doctors, lawyers and managers will have their retirement savings restricted as a result of the lower pensions lifetime allowance.

Mr Osborne and Mr Cameron steered the changes through Government Credit: Telegraph

While the reforms will benefit the economy in the medium term because of increased tax, in the longer term there will be a cost to the taxpayer as people choose to invest their savings in alternative schemes, the report found.
The OBR said that by 2035 the Government's policies will cost it £5billion a year in lost tax revenue.
It states: "In recent years, the Government has made a number of significant changes to the tax treatment of private pensions and savings and introduced a variety of government top-ups on specific savings products.
"In doing so, it has generally shifted incentives in a way that makes pensions saving less attractive - particularly for higher earners - and non-pension savings more attractive - often in ways that can most readily be taken up by the same higher earners."
Under the Coalition Government Mr Osborne also increased the amount people can save in Isas, which led to more people using them to save. The value of adult ISAs had risen from £287billion in 2006 to £518billion.
As a result, wealthy savers are expected to max out newly increased £20,000 a year Isa limits instead of saving into pensions where the tax benefits are starting to look far less attractive.

However the report warns that: "If interest rates were to increase towards historically normal levels, the amount of tax forgone on interest income would increase", adding to the long-term cost of the policies.
The watchdog warned that the Government's assault on pension savings means house prices could rise because more people are investing in housing as a result.
It said: "Measures that change the relative incentive to save, whether in savings or pensions, will also affect the attractiveness of other investments such as housing.
"A number of the measures we cover in this paper could affect the housing market, mostly by increasing demand for housing and putting upward pressure on house prices."

Culled from Telegraph

Bernard Matthews pension deal questioned

Image copyright Getty Images

A rescue package for turkey firm Bernard Matthews means employee pensions will be hit, a report for a committee of MPs has said.

The Commons Work and Pensions Committee was told the deal had been structured "to extract maximum cash from the company and dump the pension scheme".
The firm was sold to food tycoon Ranjit Boparan in September.
The new owners have previously given assurances to unions over pensions and job security for current staff.
The report, which was commissioned by the select committee, estimates the pensions deficit is now worth around £20m and is likely to receive about 1p in the pound at best under the current arrangement.
However "secured creditors", that is the banks and directors of the company, are set to receive almost all of their money back.

'Hardship'

"The administration strategy seems to have been carefully crafted to enable secured creditors and controllers of Bernard Matthews to extract maximum cash from the company and dump the pension scheme and other liabilities," said Professor Prem Sikka of the University Essex, who compiled the report for the select committee.
"No attention has been paid to the hardship caused to retired and existing employees."
It is thought that the Pensions Protection Fund, which is funded from levies on private companies, will take on the company's pension deficit, in which case members of the scheme would see their payouts cut by 10%.
The sale of Bernard Matthews was made through a "pre-pack" arrangement, under which a buyer is lined up to buy the assets of a company, but not its liabilities, such as its debt and pension deficit. It is usually agreed before the company is publicly declared to be in financial difficulty.
Defenders of such deals argue that they allow a company to survive and protect jobs.
But critics of them, such as Prof Sikka, say the secret nature of the deals means unsecured creditors miss out.
That is not just the pensions scheme, but can also include local businesses that are owed money, HMRC, and local councils.
Labour MP Frank Field, chairman of the committee, said their increased use was an issue that they would want to look at early on Parliament's return, and that reforms may be proposed to "protect better the position of pensioners in circumstances similar to Bernard Matthews Ltd".

Culled from BBC News

Striking Balance between Opportunities, Challenges in Nigeria’s Pension Industry

Anohu-Amazu

As the pension administration inches towards a new phase of development in the country, James Emejo reviews the deliberations by stakeholders at the recently-concluded third edition of World Pension Africa Special and how these could further shape the growth of the industry

The success so far recorded in the Nigerian pension industry, especially, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), cannot be overemphasised. If anything, the elimination of corruption and separation of funds between the custodian and managers are some of the greatest advantages of the scheme.

With almost N6 trillion in assets, the CPS, no doubt, holds huge potentials for infrastructure financing, which have not really happened in the country.

This has been a major source of worry for stakeholders because pension funds have effectively been deployed elsewhere to bridge infrastructure gaps, especially housing for the masses.

After over a decade of operating the CPS in the country, operators are constrained from investing the huge asset portfolio in infrastructure, especially long-term projects, partly because of the inherent risks and the need to effect timely returns to pensioners, the owners of the assets, and the much-taunted “lack of investible vehicles”.

Pension assets elsewhere provide huge opportunities for cheaper domestic borrowing by government to finance long-term but as of today, over 80 per cent of pension investments are still in government treasury bills as this offers quick returns and the critical guarantee for safety.

However, It remains a concern that despite all the amendments to the pension reforms act, this has not changed assets managers’ disposition to investing in long term infrastructure as they further believe that additional framework was desired to make the funds safer and recoverable within agreed period.

Nevertheless, the pension industry, particularly the CPS segment now believes it has to build on the stability and success so far recorded by deepening penetration through innovation to further accommodate those who are not currently in the CPS scheme.

Specifically, the focus going forward is to attempt to lure individuals and players in the informal sector, which remains largely untapped into the net.

In doing that, several revolutionary ideas are being envisaged: micro pension or the use of mobile technology-especially the ubiquity of mobile phones to administer pension to business owners, especially the self-employed artisans.

Also, the possibility of using the internet to sell pension products to the people had been part of the ideas considered by stakeholders at this year’s summit.

But, some influential speakers at the occasion were quick to draw attention to the likely pitfalls in further innovations in the pension sector, amid the opportunities they seek to expand.

Of note, was the admonition from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said though he was excited over the successes so far recorded in the Nigerian pension industry, further innovations must be undertaken with caution, reminding Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) that pension assets are sacrosanct and must be preserved “no matter what we do.”

In his opening remarks at the third edition of the World Pension Summit Africa Special, themed: “Pension Innovations: The Africa Perspective”, Obasanjo, who pioneered the pension reform in 2004 while he was president, further argued that any further innovations must put the security and sustainability of funds into consideration and ensure that the critical issue of trust is not compromised.

The former president said: “I like innovation but innovation must be with caution; we can’t be too adventurous” adding that pensioners should have access to their money whenever they needed it.

While he expressed satisfaction that the pension reforms he helped to initiate during his time in office now had almost N6 trillion in assets with about 7 million registered employees in the system, he said part of future innovations in the industry should centre on how to capture more salary earners into the pension scheme and explore the huge potentials in the informal sector of the economy, particularly those who would be engaging in self-employment at this time of recession.

He also lent his voice to the need for pension funds to be creatively utilised to provide housing for all Nigerians as well as construct roads.

However, Obasanjo’s caution on disruptive innovation in the pension sector was re-echoed by the co-founder of the World Pension Summit (WPS), Mr. Eric Eggink, who said though efforts should be made to utilise the advancement in mobile technology to significantly boost pension participation, inherent constraints must not be ignored.

According to Eggink, products like micro pension as well as providing online access to pension products and any innovation that lowers the threshold to accommodate players in the informal sector will be a great boost to the growth of the sector, but the problems of cybercrime and internet speed may constitute bottlenecks if unchecked.

The cautions are particularly true in view of the array of online frauds witnessed in the banking sector where online financial transactions are currently in place.

Banks continue to lose billions to cyber criminals who clone banks’ websites and send fraudulent messages to customers with the intent to defraud them and they are often successful in their nefarious acts.

If anything, the nasty experience in the banking sector regarding online and mobile financial transactions must guide whatever innovations are being sought to boost pension in the country.

Nonetheless, one other focus of the summit was how pension investment in infrastructure could be enhanced to provide government with affordable financing options amid the current fiscal constraints which had led the economy into a recession.

The Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, had noted that Africa’s infrastructure deficit stood at $93 billion annually and could be addressed through a coordinated, multifaceted approach to development and the integration of domestic funding sources particularly pension funds and foreign institutional investors.

She said ideas and experiences on innovative practices in pensions and social security to advance the African agenda of addressing economic and social challenges must be considered going forward.

According to her: “Then again, cutting-edge Infrastructure is critical for economic growth and social progress. Extant indices show that Africa’s infrastructure remains by far the most deficient and costly amongst developing countries. In many cities, the challenge of urbanisation and the need for modern infrastructure is already evident. One-third of urban residents in Sub-Saharan Africa are located in 36 cities, each with more than one million inhabitants.”

But she further observed that “No doubt, for African institutional investors to make the desired impact, it is imperative to strengthen the institutions towards ensuring good corporate governance. We must build and maintain investors’ trust and confidence – particularly, conditions and regulations should not change during the life cycle of investments.

“In addition, we must ensure that investment initiatives address environmental, social and governance principles, due to the need to focus on reducing products that are harmful to our lands and people. Similarly, we must not lose focus that pension assets are liability-driven investments, which pay much attention to the promises made to pensioners.

“Thus, there is need to inculcate transparency in the way investment structures will be designed. This requires an increased investment and innovation in Information and Communication Technology infrastructure.”

According to her, “It is imperative for the African pension and social security funds to emulate the investment focus of their sister funds from developed climes in the provision of infrastructure and in making visible economic impact. However, to successfully achieve these fiats, they must develop core competencies and capabilities. I am particularly happy that African institutions are already taking steps toward unlocking the potentials of this great continent towards achieving greatness.”

From the foregoing, it is evident that there are still huge opportunities yet untapped in pension administration in the country but equally, there are still as much challenges which are to be addressed in order to achieve full potentials of the pension industry.

Culled from Thisday

PTAD chief: pension entitlements’ll be paid - OmobolaTolu-Kusimoon

:

The new Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Barr  Sharon Ikeazor has assured all pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) that all their outstanding pension benefits and other entitlements would be paid.
In her acceptance speech during the hand over ceremony at PTAD’s Headquarters in Abuja yesterday, she said the Directorate will work to ensure that pensioners are never subjected to   uncertainties, painful delays, and unnecessary hurdles that have been the history of  DBS pension’s payment.
The PTAD chief said she felt humbled to be entrusted by President Mohamrnadu Buhari with the important task of making positive difference in the lives of millions of Nigerians who have served their father land with dedication over the decades.
She said the responsibilities of PTAD are clearly defined, noting that it is tasked primarily with ensuring  timely payment of benefits and other entitlements as at when due to pensioners under the DBS.
She however said budgetary provisions for pensions has always been one of the most vulnerable items in budget implementation.

Culled from The Nation

Labour calls for solution to pension challenges- Toba Agboola

The Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have urged the government to address problems associated with contributory pension scheme.
They advised that for a successful implementation of the government‘s reform plan, a strong committee, including stakeholders, should be constituted with a mandate and objectives.
This was contained in a statement by the state’s NLC Chairman, Comrade Adamu Ango.
The statement said the implementation of the reform by the Kaduna State Government should be done in phases to address issues that might arise during the execution of the reforms.
The statement read: “The government should as a matter of priority, settle all outstanding arrears of salaries and entitlements of retirees before embarking on the reform.

“Without prejudice to the existing norms, we wish to advise that ageing in the service should be by the provision as contained in the statute books, i.e. 35 years in service and /or 60 years of age and that should be maintained for uniformity with the civil service of the federation.
“All problems associated with the contributory pension scheme should be addressed e.g. accrual valuation, reconciliation of remittance of employee/employer and the Group Life Insurance etc.’’
The unions recommended that officers that had reached or soon to reach the retirement age/years of  service be allowed to voluntarily exit the service, while the government should make their entitlements ready for collection within the mandatory three months of notice to achieve a win-win situation.

Culled from The Nation