Reps to quiz Adeosun, others over N302bn pension fund By Musa Abdullahi Krishi

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The House of Representatives will today summon the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and other officials over N302 billion pension fund.

Others to appear before the House at plenary on the matter next week are the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, heads of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).

Receiving members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners during a visit in Abuja yesterday, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the affected officials would brief the House at plenary on why the N302bn pension liabilities had not received adequate attention.

Dogara said prompt payment of pension is a constitutional matter adding that “Except there are reasons for us not to pay, then we will be breaching the constitution. If we’re fighting corruption, we must address issues that have capability of stalling the fight.

“Relevant ministries and all heads of agencies will appear before us on the floor at plenary. There will be a motion on the matter. Let them come and tell Nigerians for us to be sure that by the end of this 2017 we will get out of this.”

President of the union, Dr Abel Afolayan, said the 2017 budget had not provided sufficient fund for payment of pensions in the two pension schemes under PTAD and PenCom.

He said the 2017 pension proposal under social benefits are; civil service, N102.425bn; Customs, Immigration and Prisons, N10.131bn; police, N15.773bn; parastatals, N174.075bn, totalling N302.405bn.

He explained that the Executive arm submitted N109.123bn leaving a difference of N193.282bn.

Giving the breakdown of liabilities, he said the amount owed pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme of PTAD are; civil service pensions, N55.337bn; parastatals pensions, N110.843bn; police pension, N6.799bn and Customs, Immigration and Prisons pensions, N1.528bn, totalling N174.501bn.

He added that the major challenge was how to get the amount paid and called on the House to ensure appropriation of sufficient fund for settlement of pension benefits in 2017.

Culled from Daily Trust

Retirement Reality: 10 Charts You Need to See -Eric McWhinnie

Retirement statistics | iStock.com

It’s time for Americans to face the reality of retirement planning, especially younger Americans. Considering that defined benefit plans are moving closer to full extinction each year, it’s now more important than ever for individuals to save for retirement. This is not always an easy process, but you can improve your odds of an ideal retirement by educating yourself and planning for it as soon as possible.
Millions of Americans are worried about their so-called golden years — with good reason. According to Bankrate.com, 28% of Americans say high medical bills are their top financial concern about retirement. Making matters worse, higher income provides little comfort. Households making more than $75,000 are actually more worried about medical expenses than the overall population. Meanwhile, 23% of Americans say running out of savings is their biggest financial concern, followed by 18% who say unaffordable daily expenses. Eleven percent of Americans are most worried about having too much debt in retirement.
With stagnant wages, rising living expenses, and an overall sluggish labor market, numerous obstacles face workers trying to save for retirement, but no one cares about your financial future as much as you. Let’s take a look at 10 charts that are crucial to the retirement planning process.

1. Savings rate

Personal savings | J.P. Morgan

Americans are not known for their prudent saving habits. If anything, we’re renowned for being the largest consumer market in the world. We work hard to buy things we don’t really need. When we can’t afford something, we simply use debt to achieve instant gratification, prolonging the cycle of poor savings.
As the chart above shows, the national savings rate has mostly declined for about the past 40 years. In 2014, the rate reached a dismal 4.8%, compared to a long-term average of 8.4%. The rate rebounded in a slightly less dismal 5.5% in 2015. J.P. Morgan finds that an alarming number of people are not even interested in saving. In 2015, only 48% had tried to calculate how much money they would actually need to save for retirement.

2. Life expectancy

Life expectancy | J.P. Morgan

As you near the typical retirement age, the probability of you living for another decade or two is remarkably high. Men age 65 today have a 79% chance of living another 10 years, while women have an 85% chance. The odds of a long life increase dramatically for couples.
In fact, couples age 65 today have an astounding 97% chance that at least one of them lives another 10 years and an 90% chance that one experiences their 80-year birthday. It almost comes down to a coin flip that at least one person in the relationship lives to 90.
In short, you should plan on living to at least 90 years old or perhaps even longer, depending on your family history. While more people are working beyond the age of 65, that doesn’t mean you should assume you will be able to do so. J.P. Morgan finds that 67% of employed Americans plan to work beyond age 65, but only 23% of actual retirees did, citing health problems and employer issues.

3. Health care

Retirement work | J.P. Morgan

Living longer has a hefty price. More Americans are expected to stay in the workforce in order to compensate for increased lifespans and expenses. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, JP Morgan estimates that 23% of the civilian labor force in 2024 will be made up of people in their early 70s, nearly double the amount in 1994. Fourteen percent of workers are expected to be 75 to 79 years old, compared to only 7% in 1994. As the chart above shows, 25% of working retirees stay on the clock to make ends meet, while 23% do so to keep insurance or benefits.
How much might you spend on health care in retirement? A Fidelity analysis estimates a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2016 will need $260,000 to cover health care costs in retirement, excluding long-term care insurance. That’s up 6% from the $245,000 estimated for a couple retiring in 2015. The estimate applies to retirees with traditional Medicare insurance coverage and provides a general idea of the monthly expenses associated with Medicare premiums, Medicare co-payments and deductibles, and prescription drug out-of-pocket expenses.

4. Saving early

Save early for retirement | J.P. Morgan

We’ve all heard it before: You need to start saving for retirement as soon as possible. It’s a simple concept, but many people fail to understand the long-term effects of saving and investing early. As the chart above shows, a person who invests $5,000 annually between the ages of 25 and 35 will have an estimated $563,000 at age 65, assuming a 7% annual return. In comparison, a person who invests $5,000 between the ages of 35 and 65 will have about $58,000 less.
Market returns are not guaranteed and are certainly more volatile than 7% each year, but the math shows the benefits of compounding returns. The earlier you start, the better your chances of reaching your financial goals. Your chances also improve if you start early and keep a consistent pace. A person who invests $5,000 annually between the ages of 25 and 65 could accumulate more than $1 million for retirement.

5. Spending habits

Retirement spending habits | J.P. Morgan

Predicting your exact income needs for retirement decades in advance is impossible. Nonetheless, you should recognize that you may have more expenses than you think. On average, American household spending peaks at age of 45. However, as the chart above shows, there are still significant costs after the peak and during retirement.
The average spending for 65- to 74-year-olds totals $47,383 per year — not exactly chump change. If you’re 35 today, imagine how much you’ll be spending in 30 years due to inflation. If you plan on traveling in retirement, your costs could be even higher. Additionally, healthcare is the one category of spending that fails to log a decrease. If you invest in nothing else for retirement, at least invest in your health. Eliminating mortgage debt and making sure your house fits your actual needs is also helpful in reducing retirement expenses, as housing-related costs represented the largest portion of spending among all age groups.

6. Nursing home expenses

Nursing home expenses | J.P. Morgan

One of the most overlooked retirement costs (it’ll-never-happen-to-me syndrome) may also be one of the most expensive. J.P. Morgan finds that the cost of a private room nursing care facility for one year can vary from $80,000 to over $120,000, depending on where you live. However, a majority of Americans underestimate the costs of nursing home care and are neglecting the need to save for it.
Nearly 57% of Americans believe a year in a nursing home will cost them less than $75,000, according to a recent survey by MoneyRates.com. A study by MetLife finds that even semi-private rooms cost an average of $81,030 per year. Furthermore, the average cost of a semi-private room in the New York City area is $141,620, which is 75% higher than the national average. In contrast, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri offer some of the cheapest long-term care services in the country.

7. Social Security

Social Security | J.P. Morgan

If you can, delaying Social Security benefits may help you achieve a more secure retirement. The top graphic illustrates how people born 1943 to 1954 can receive 32% more in a benefit check by waiting until age 70 to claim Social Security, compared to the full retirement age of 66. At age 62, beneficiaries receive only 75% of what they would get if they waited until age 66. The bottom graphic shows the trade-offs for younger individuals, which penalizes early claiming by offering 70% of benefits at age 62. Delaying benefits until age 70 results in 24% more benefits than full retirement age 67.
If you have a health problem or family history indicating you will not live for decades beyond age 62, you may want to claim Social Security as soon as possible so that you have time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. On the other hand, if your health and finances are stable, you may want to wait. The Social Security Administration now offers online accounts so that Americans can stay up to date on their financial situations.

8. Investing

Investment growth | J.P. Morgan

Due to inflation eroding the value of money, it’s not enough to simply let your savings sit in cash. One dollar invested in Treasury bills in 1950 would have only grown to $16 in 2015. However, that same dollar invested in large-cap stocks would have grown to $1,116, while small-cap stocks would have grown that dollar into $4,227. There are certainly other investment choices than stocks, but this illustration reminds investors that cash is a terrible wealth generator over the long term.
Warren Buffett once explained how investors should view cash. He said:

“The one thing I will tell you is the worst investment you can have is cash. Everybody is talking about cash being king and all that sort of thing. Cash is going to become worth less over time. But good businesses are going to become worth more over time. And you don’t want to pay too much for them so you have to have some discipline about what you pay. But the thing to do is find a good business and stick with it. We always keep enough cash around so I feel very comfortable and don’t worry about sleeping at night. But it’s not because I like cash as an investment. Cash is a bad investment over time. But you always want to have enough so that nobody else can determine your future essentially.”

9. Market timing

Market timing | J.P. Morgan

Unless you’re a day trader, you should not be trying to time the market. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, investors are constantly plugged into financial markets, but that doesn’t mean you should always be doing something with your portfolio. The average Joe is typically better off with a diversified portfolio built for the long term. Trying to time the market can be disastrous, especially when it comes to stocks and your retirement.
As the chart above shows, $10,000 invested between January 2, 1996, and December 31, 2015, would have grown to $48,230 if it was constantly invested in the S&P 500. If you missed the 10 best days during that period, the investment would have grown to only $24,070, just less than half of the amount if you simply left the money untouched. Critics rightly point out that missing the worst days in the market is even better for a portfolio, but that is a dangerous strategy for most investors.
Even if you rightly time the market and avoid the worst days, you are then left with the agonizing decision of when to get back into the market. You need to know yourself and your limitations when investing. Six of the 10 best days during the stated time period occurred within two weeks of the 10 worst days. The market is like a seesaw in the short-term, but becomes more stable through diversification and time.

10. Early withdrawals from retirement accounts

401(k) early withdrawals | J.P. Morgan

Life happens. You may have a personal financial crisis hit you so hard that the only place to lick your wounds is your retirement account. However, if at all possible, you should probably avoid pulling money from your retirement account before you do indeed retire. The chart above shows how costly it can be to take money from a 401(k). Three $10,000 loans throughout your working career could potentially cost you more than half a million dollars, or 30% of your portfolio! That’s based on several assumptions, like a 60/40 portfolio, but the lesson is the same. Your money and financial future stands to benefit from compounding returns if it’s invested constantly, and not being pulled out ahead of schedule. Regularly contributing to a retirement plan as early as possible can also amount to significant nest eggs.

Culled  from Money & Career Cheat Sheet

Nigeria pension office sacks five deputy directors for alleged employment fraud -Bassey Udo

Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, Barr. Sharon Ikeazor [Photo: icpc.gov.ng]

Five deputy directors of the Pensions Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, have been fired for alleged employment fraud, the agency said Tuesday.
The officials were sacked after a staff verification exercise revealed they breached established regulations prior to their employment, the chairperson of the directorate told journalists.
PTAD is a Federal Government agency established in August 2013 under the Pension Reforms Act of 2004 to take over the functions of the defunct pension offices of the police, paramilitary services, civil service and government agencies.
The agency is responsible for the administration of pension for about 223,000 retirees who left federal government service on or before June 30, 2007.
The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor, who was reviewing the operations of the agency since her assumption of office in September 2016, said the five directors had to be compelled to disengage from service at the end of the staff verification exercise, which commenced in 2014.
They affected directors, according to Ms. Ikeazor were Godson Ukpevo, who until his disengagement was in charge of Civil Service Pension department; Uloma Uruakpa (Customs, Immigrations and Prisons Pension department); Taiwo Ogundipe (Parastatals Pension department); Atiku Saleh (Police Pension department), and Roz Ben-Okagbue (Pension Support Service department).
In line with public service regulations, prospective employees into the service must meet the minimum entry qualification of not being below 18 years, or not more than 50 years of age on the date of first appointment.
Mrs. Ikeazor said the verification exercise uncovered that at the time the five directors were employed, they were already above the mandatory age limit of 50. Also, some of them were already retired from public service elsewhere.

The Executive Secretary said the affected officials may be prosecuted and made to refund all government monies they earned illegally during the period they occupied their positions.
Mrs. Ikeazor said although PTAD inherited about 160,000 pensioners at inception, the directorate is now saddled with the responsibility of administering the pensions of about 223,000.
She attributed the increase in the population of pensioners to the rapid consolidation of 253 parastatals and agencies under PTAD, saying in spite of this the monthly pension obligations have been met since inception.
“PTAD did not inherit a credible database from any of the pension offices it took over from,” Mrs. Ikeazor lamented. “There were nominal rolls, but no complete database. The lack of database and information on pensioners in general makes it very difficult to resolve complaints.”
On the ongoing verification exercise, Mrs. Ikeazor said apart from the police and paramilitary pensions that have since been completed in 2015, the verification of next of kins from North Eastern part of the country has so far been completed, with a capture rate of 70 per cent, or 6,445 pensioners covered.
This, she said, was in line with her commitment to prioritise the verification of the nationwide civil service pensioners, particularly in the North East, to meet President Muhammadu Buhari’s goal to end the insurgency in the region.
Besides, she said about 55,400 pensioners have been verified under the civil service nationwide, with those in the South-south geopolitical zone being about 21,123. Verification of pensioners in Lagos and other South West and North central regions would follow.
In addition, the Executive Secretary said about 4,000 new pensioners were brought unto the payroll in late 2016 following the field verification conducted in 2015.
“During the verification, about 15,000 unverified names from the payroll, mostly those who were not able to provide their bank verification numbers, BVN, linked to their bank accounts, were removed. Those who were able to provide their BVNs later were reinstated,” Mrs. Ikeazor said.
On the recovery of legacy assets, following the takeover of all pension assets, funds and liabilities of the former pension offices and Boards of Parastatals, Mrs. Ikeazor said legacy pension funds of about N19.14 billion belonging to Parastatals, Universities and colleges of Education has remained in the custody insurance companies.
Despites several requests, she said only Leadway Assurance has so far paid funds in PTAD’s custody.
“We are working with the Minister of Finance to ensure that all outstanding legacy funds are transferred to us to enable us defray some of government’s liabilities arising from the non-payment of pensions,” she said.

Premium Times

Pensioners set to ambush Bindow in 2019 - Emmanuel Ande

Pensioners

Pension is not a right, says government
The Adamawa State governor, Senator Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow of the All Progressives Congress (APC), may face two critical hurdles over his second term ambition, as the pensioners in the state are determined to work against him in 2019, if he fails to pay their N20 billion pensions and gratuity arrears.
This is coming on the heels of the initial threat to him by former governor, Murtala Nyako and the ‘Abuja Group’- aggrieved members of the legacy parties, led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal.
The main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is also not resting on its oars to oust Bindow come 2019. The pensioners are up in arms against the governor asking him to settle the pension arrears otherwise they would mobilize against him in 2019.


While addressing the media last week, a retired permanent secretary, Alhaji Mustapha Galadima vowed that pensioners would pay the administration with the same coin it is paying them. He accused the administration of not only being inhuman on issues concerning pensioners, but also treating retired civil servants in the state with contempt. However, the chief of staff to the governor, Alhaji Abdullraman Abba Jimeta dismissed the threat, saying that retirement benefits are privileges and not rights of pensioners.
According to him, “Government has the right to skip some of the retired benefits and pay those that are more important to the administration.” While the chief of staff insisted there is no need joining issues with Galadima, he contended: “Jimeta has only demonstrated his ignorance about civil service rules. All pensioners’ benefits are stipulated in the 1999 Constitution as amended in 2011.
“Jimeta has never been a career civil servant, he only worked briefly in the erstwhile General Ibrahim Babangida’s Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) and resigned. I doubt his depth of knowledge of civil service rules.”
But the State’s chairman of the pensioners union, Mr. Samson Almuru, said since the state was created past and present governments have not complied with the new law for increments of pensioners’ allowances.


According to him, “You can imagine that some of the retired permanent secretaries in Adamawa are still collecting N7, 000 as pension. A retired Permanent Secretary and former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Geire, who is now ill is still collecting N7, 000 monthly and for several months he has not been paid.” He added that the benefits of some permanent secretaries and the executive chairman of the state Board of Internal Revenue, who died in active service about seven years ago, are yet to be remitted to their next of kin; “this government is aware but could not take appropriate action.
“Sadly too, we have over 40 permanent secretaries, state and local government auditors general and clerk to the State Assembly, who retired from service between 2009 and 2016 and are still waiting to be paid their entitlements.”
Almuru alleged that pensioners in Adamawa were excluded from the 2016 bail out funds of Federal Government and the recent Paris Club refunds, despite the fact that the state got over N10 billion from the two allocations.”
Said he: “Adamawa collected the bail out and the Paris Club funds but up till now our members are yet to benefit from the two allocations. We were told that the governor approved only N1billion naira for both state and local government pensioners.”
He lamented that payment of gratuity and pension in Adamawa has become a thorn in the flesh of the present government, saying: “In the time past payments have been regular and had covered a wide ground. We are not against the infrastructure the government is building but that should not be used as excuse to the detriment of retired civil servants.”
He wondered whether the roads are meant for carrying the dead bodies or are meant for the living. He however urged the governor to check some of his aides over their unguarded comments.

Guardian

N1bn capitalisation no longer adequate for pension operators –Suleiman, FUG boss -Maduka Nweke

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Usman Suleiman is the Managing Director/CEO of Future Unity Glanvils Pensions Limited (FUG Pensions), one of the frontline Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the country. A graduate of Business Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Suleiman has gathered enough experiences in various spheres of life, especially in the financial industry.
A specialist in Investment Banking, Development Finance and Pension Fund Management, he is the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of FUG Pensions. He was appointed to the position after successfully leading a Technical Committee that was charged with the responsibility of setting up the company and obtaining the PFA License.
In this interview with Daily Sun, he stated that the industry has so grown that the N1 billion capitalisation is no longer adequate for operators, especially beginners. He noted that to sustain the competitive tempo in the industry and expand spheres of business, operators may likely go into self-imposed mergers and acquisitions. Reviewing government attitude towards remission of employees’ contributions, he stated, it was just a challenge that could be overcome with time.
Excerpts:
Investment of pension funds in infrastructure
As far as we are concerned, there are no contentious issues because everything there is clear. We are not project managers; we are fund managers, specifically pension funds managers. We have the funds; we are ready and willing to invest the funds. But we are actually looking for assets to invest in and infrastructure is a major and interesting asset class. However, we have to have projects that are well structured to meet all the regulatory requirements as well as our own individual internal requirements before we can invest. The structure will have to provide us with safety, security, liquidity, competitive returns and acceptable exit route. Both the operators and the regulators have been encouraging project managers, fund sponsors, investment promoters and other stakeholders to come up with vehicles that will qualify for these funds. We are anxiously looking for such vehicles.
I’m glad to say there are some of the fund managers, private equity funds, project managers and promoters who, in recent times, have been working very hard both locally and in partnership with other foreign interested parties trying to come up with various infrastructure projects that will qualify for pension funds. These are in the areas of transport, power and urban regeneration, among others. Projects such as the Oshodi Interchange Centre, trailer park on the Snake Island, East-West railway line, the fourth Mainland Bridge and various captive power plants are good candidates if well packaged.
There are various project promoters working to come up with specific projects or vehicles that will meet Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pension Commission (PenCom) requirements such that they will be able to access these funds. And for us, once an infrastructure project meets the regulatory requirements as well as locally and internationally accepted standards, which are common and known, we will be ready to fund it. These funds are supposed to be invested long term and serving the dual purposes of safety and security for the contributors and economic development of the country.
Regime of N1bn capitalisation and the state of the economy
First of all, the capital base you mentioned is the regulatory minimum requirement. However, in reality, virtually all the operators in this industry are operating above it. I accept that any new entrant into this business today starting from scratch will likely find N1 billion very inadequate to start up. For existing operators, however, there is no problem at all with this. This is because they have already acquired all the required regulatory assets for the business. It only becomes an issue if they want to go beyond the minimum requirement. At FUG Pensions, for instance, we want to always be at the cutting edge and that is why we always upgrade our operations. At present, we are in the process of replacing our G7 servers with G9, which is the top of the game presently. This requires resources beyond the minimum. I will expect our competitors to be working in the same line. Of course, the regulator has requirements for provision of certain IT and non-IT facilities. If N1 billion cannot provide these, then you certainly have to go beyond that.
Is CPS under threat from government?
I will not say the contributory pension scheme is under threat but I would say it’s facing some challenges. However, these challenges have actually been recognised by the regulator, the operators and government, including the National Assembly. For obvious reasons, the government may not be in a position to be funding its pension liabilities as required. We are not talking about current and the ongoing, but the accrued, which the government is expected to be funding at about 5 per cent of the budgetary provision of the current wage bill.
From the retirement bond redemption fund account, the commission will be funding the accrued right of those who are retiring. That is where the challenge is. But I believe the government recognises that and is trying to balance the various competing demands across all sectors of the economy and the public service. And it is not as if government is not funding at all but it is not funding to the extent that will meet the obligations as they arise. The key thing is that the challenge is recognised by government and I am sure they are working on how to ameliorate the situation. So I will not say the scheme is under any threat.
The private sector is not so challenging, but due to the circumstances of the economy, the private sector is facing a lot of difficulties. But as long as they are paying salaries, they will pay pension. The challenge is the delay in payment of salaries and the downturn in employment itself. The growth rate of employment has come down. Not too many firms are employing; firms employ only when it’s absolutely necessary except perhaps for the high tech firms where certain types of skills are needed. Firms are also downsizing and in such, growth in pension funds will not be at the same pace as of the earlier period.
Also, we now have a higher rate of pay-out because those who are laid off would come to ask for 25 per cent of the balances in their account if they fail to get job after four months as stipulated in the PRA. And they are not likely to get jobs within the period of four months, but for those who remain in employment and salaries are being paid, pension will be remitted.
There might be no salary increment and promotions in a lot of places, but salaries when paid remittances are made. The difference with the state government is that they don’t pay salaries regularly and when they accumulate, they find a means of support by way of bail out or some kind of support from the Federal Government before they pay. So in such a situation, remittances are affected. For the private sector, I will say that those at the first tier of the market, the multinationals and major corporates don’t fail in remittances. They have also come to understand that the CPS has lifted a huge burden off them, the burden of providing for or finding money to pay end of service benefits as used to be the case.
The recession has now bottomed out. The negative GDP growth reported in quarter four 2016 is lower than the two earlier quarters and the average for the whole year is just minus 1.2 per cent. We should therefore expect to start seeing positive GDP growth from quarter one 2017. I will say that with this expectation of stabilisation and recovery of the economy, there should be an improvement of this situation you mentioned. Even as we are talking about recession, foreign investors still have much faith and hope in this economy otherwise the $1 billion eurobond issuance by the Debt Management Office (DMO) would not have been actualised. The bond was not just fully subscribed but, in fact, eight times oversubscribed. You can’t have an expression of investor confidence in an economy more than this.
There is also stability in the political system, control of the militancy in the Niger Delta, stabilisation of the insurgency in the North East, etc. These are the things giving investors and operators hope and confidence in the economy. If local firms see that foreign investors are investing in this economy, they too will be encouraged and the economy will get back on the high growth track. For us, that will mean employment generation and business growth.
Problems of transfer window and micro pension
Basically, the issues of structuring the process such that you do not have problems down the line is the delay. On the transfer window, for instance, we want to be sure that technology is right, the process is right and all the parties involved, particularly the central clearing system, are on the same page. This is not an easy thing to do. It involves a lot of resources, but I can tell you we are aware that regulators have been working very hard on that.
In recent times, some headway is being made by PenCom in getting the technology and process in place and I strongly believe that in not too distant future, we will see the transfer window structure in place. As for the micro pension, it is very peculiar. The guidelines we have at present are all looking at a formal structure but the micro pension requires an informal structure.
The informal pension, which consists of grassroots trades and occupations such as vulcanisers, Okada riders, farmers’ cooperatives and all sorts of artisans who live on what they get on daily basis and cannot see any need for saving. On the other hand, we have the micro segments that are not necessarily micro in terms of value of resources but in terms of personnel and involvement.
For instance, you could have a blogger sitting in his living room working on his site or blog, he is a single individual operating from his own home but because what he is doing is interesting to the public, he could have a high volume of traffic to the site. That means a huge attraction to advertisers. Advertisement agents and corporate bodies will be interested in what he is doing because of the volume of viewership; hence, he will be making huge sums of money. The micro and the informal sectors actually provide between 70 and 75 per cent employment in this country. They also need to be secure in old age and as FUG would say, be assure of a brighter future. We are therefore trying to create a net that will capture all of them.

Culled from Sun

WhatsApp Technology on Int’l Radar after British Terror Attack

With the spectre of terror attacks and insecurity worldwide, WhatsApp users may no longer be guaranteed privacy, as the British government is demanding access to encrypted messaging services provided by technology firms on mobile devices.
There must be “no place for terrorists to hide” and intelligence services must have access to encrypted messaging services, the Britain’s Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said.
It comes after it emerged that Khalid Masood was reportedly on the messaging app WhatsApp two minutes before an attack in Westminster in which he killed four people.
Police were unable to read his messages.
But labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there was a balance between the “right to know” and “the right to privacy”.

Amber Rudd said she would be asking tech firms to “work with us” when she meets with them this week.
Speaking to BBC One’s Andrew Marr programme, Ms Rudd said: “We need to make sure our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.”
Encryption is a way of scrambling computer data so it can only be read by the people you want to see it.
All messages sent on WhatsApp have end-to-end encryption.
This means messages are unreadable if they are intercepted by anyone, including law enforcement.

The Facebook-owned company, which has a billion users worldwide, has said protecting private communication was one of its “core beliefs”.
Asked if there was an issue about giving the security services more powers to hack in to messaging services like WhatsApp, Mr. Corbyn told ITV on Sunday that they already had “huge powers” of investigation.
But writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the home secretary said she was asking companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook to be more “proactive” in tackling extremism.
In the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also called for internet companies to develop technology to detect and remove extreme material.
The calls come after Wednesday’s terror attack when attacker Masood ran down pedestrians and fatally stabbed a police officer who was guarding the houses of Parliament.
In total, five people died – including the attacker who was shot by police – and 50 others were injured, two seriously.

On Saturday, the Metropolitan police said they believed Masood acted alone. But they added they were also “determined” to find out whether he had been inspired by terrorist propaganda.

Thisday

State pension age could be raised to 70, says report - Brian Milligan

Two separate reports for the government have raised the possibility that millions of people may have to work longer to qualify for a state pension.

An analysis for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested that workers under the age of 30 may not get a pension until the age of 70.
A second report, by John Cridland, proposes that those under the age of 45 may have to work a year longer, to 68.
The government is due to make a decision on both reports by May.
Ministers are under pressure to address the expected rise in the cost of pensions, which stems from longer life expectancy and the increasing ratio of pensioners to workers.
But at least six million people face the prospect of having to work longer.
"This report is going to be particularly unwelcome for anyone in their early 40s, as they're now likely to see their state pension age pushed back another year," said Tom McPhail, head of retirement at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"For those in their 30s and younger, it reinforces the expectation of a state pension from age 70, which means an extra two years of work."

Image copyright Getty Images

Proposed changes

In an extreme scenario, experts from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) said the state pension age could be raised as high as 70 as soon as 2054.
Under existing rules everyone is due to get a pension by the age of 68.
Such a scenario would affect anyone born after April 1986 - in other words anyone under the age of 31.
The "extreme" scenario involves an assumption that people spend 32% of their adult life in retirement. The conventional assumption until now has been that people will spend 33.3% of their lives in retirement.
In the worst-case situation, the GAD calculations also suggest that the change in the retirement age from 67 to 68 could be pulled forward by as much as 16 years.
So while that increase is not due to happen until 2044, it could be brought in as soon as 2028, affecting those now in their late 50s.

'Extra year'

Former pensions minister Steve Webb was highly critical of the GAD's scenario.
"This is not what parliament voted for and is clearly driven by the Treasury. It is one thing asking people to work longer to make pensions affordable, but it is another to hike up pension ages because the Treasury sees it as an easy way to raise money," he said.
However, the other report, by the former CBI chief John Cridland, foresees more modest changes.
He recommends bringing the change from 67 to 68 forward by seven years, from 2046 to 2039. That would mean anyone currently under the age of 45 having to work an extra year.

The changes are due to be phased in gradually, over a two-year period in each case.
In addition Mr Cridland said there should be no up-rating from 68 to 69 before 2047 at the earliest, and that the pension age should never rise by more than one year in each ten-year period.
He also suggests that the so-called triple-lock be ended in the next parliament.
Up to now the triple lock has guaranteed that the state pension rises each year by inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is the highest.
However, by linking the rise in pension payouts to earnings alone, the bill for pensions would fall from 6.7% of GDP to 5.9% of GDP by 2066.

---

Mr Cridland also recommends:

• A new system of carer's leave, allowing older people with caring responsibilities to have time off work
• A mid-life "MOT" to help people take decisions about work, health and retirement
• Some vulnerable people in their 60s should have access to a means-tested benefit, along the lines of pension credit
• There should be no "early access" to the state pension, despite this being raised as a possibility in the interim report
• People could defer drawing their pension, taking higher benefits later

BBC

Billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller dies at age 101

 

 

David Rockefeller

 

David Rockefeller was the last of his generation in a famous American family that taught its children that wealth brings great responsibility. Even as children, he and his siblings had to set aside portions of their allowances for charitable giving.
That lesson lasted throughout his life; to mark his 100th birthday in 2015, Rockefeller gave 1,000 acres of land next to a national park to the state of Maine.
Rockefeller died Monday in his sleep at his home in Pocantico Hills at age 101, according to his spokesman, Fraser P. Seitel.
He was the grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller and the youngest of five sons and one daughter born to John D. Rockefeller Jr. He was also the guardian of his family’s fortune and head of a sprawling network of family interests, both business and philanthropic, that ranged from environmental conservation to the arts.
Unlike his brothers Nelson, the governor of New York who hungered for the White House and was briefly vice president, and Winthrop, a governor of Arkansas, David Rockefeller wielded power and influence without ever seeking public office. Among his many accomplishments were spurring the project that led to the World Trade Center.
“No individual has contributed more to the commercial and civic life of New York City over a longer period of time than David Rockefeller,” said Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor and fellow billionaire. “I have long admired his commitment to the city, which began with a dollar-a-year job working as a secretary to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. During my time in City Hall, he was always there for the city when we called.”
Unlike his other brothers, John D. 3rd and Laurance, who shied from the spotlight and were known for philanthropy, David Rockefeller embraced business and traveled and spoke widely as a champion of enlightened capitalism.
“American capitalism has brought more benefits to more people than any other system in any part of the world at any time in history,” he said. “The problem is to see that the system is run as efficiently and as honestly as it can be.”
Rockefeller graduated from Harvard in 1936 and received a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1940. He served in the Army during World War II, then began climbing the ranks of management at Chase Bank. That bank merged with the Manhattan company in 1955.
He was named Chase Manhattan’s president in 1961 and chairman and CEO eight years later. He retired in 1981 at age 65 after a 35-year career.

In his role of business statesman, Rockefeller preached capitalism at home and favored assisting economies abroad on grounds that bringing prosperity to the Third World would create customers for American products.

He parted company with some of his fellow capitalists on income taxes, calling it unseemly to earn a million and then find ways to avoid paying the taxes. He didn’t say how much he paid in taxes, and he never spoke publicly about his personal worth. In 2015, Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $3 billion.
As one of the Rockefeller grandchildren, David belonged to the last generation in which the inherited family billions were concentrated in a few hands. The next generation, known as “the cousins,” are more numerous.
Rockefeller was estimated to have met more than 200 rulers in more than 100 countries during his lifetime, and often was treated as if he were a visiting head of state.
Under Rockefeller, Chase — now known as JPMorgan Chase — was the first U.S. bank to open offices in the Soviet Union and China and, in 1974, the first to open an office in Egypt after the Suez crisis of 1956.
In his early travels to South Africa, Rockefeller arranged clandestine meetings with several underground black leaders. “I find it terribly important to get overall impressions beyond those I get from businessmen,” he said.
But Rockefeller took a lot of heat for his bank’s substantial dealings with South Africa’s white separatist regime and for helping the deposed, terminally ill Shah of Iran come to New York for medical treatment in 1979, the move that triggered the 13-month U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.
Rockefeller maintained the family’s patronage of the arts, including its long-standing relationship with the Museum of Modern Art, which his mother had been a fervent patron of. His private art collection was once valued at $500 million. The Rockefeller estate at Kykuit, overlooking the Hudson River north of New York City, is the repository of four generations of family history, including Nelson’s art and sculpture collection.
One of the major efforts of Rockefeller’s later years was directed at restoring family influence in the landmark Rockefeller Center, most of which had been sold in the 1980s to Japanese investors. He eventually organized an investor group to buy back 45 percent of the property.
His philanthropy and other activities earned him a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1998.
Rockefeller and his wife, the former Margaret McGrath, were married in 1940 and had six children — David Jr., Richard, Abby, Neva, Margaret and Eileen. His wife, an active conservationist, died in 1996.

Today News/APP

Minister softens up 11 million workers for pensions blow

Cutting annual increases to staff pensions was suggested at the height of the Tata Steel crisis Credit: AFP

• Sam Brodbeck

18 March 2017 • 7:56am

Millions of people with “final salary” pensions may have to accept cuts to their income as radical plans emerge aimed at saving thousands of struggling small funds.
Writing for this newspaper, the pensions minister hints that in future pensioners will have to accept reduced benefits to take the pressure off embattled funds.
For decades, the companies that back these schemes – where retirement income is guaranteed and based on salary and length of service – have struggled to keep them fully funded. Most are now in deficit, meaning the value of their pension promises outweighs the assets in the fund.

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Some savers have been enticed to give up their final salary benefits by offers from employers to swap their guaranteed payments for lump sums up of up to 40 times the size of annual pensions.
Now, in the wake of the BHS scandal, which saw Sir Philip Green forced to pay £363m to fill a hole in the staff pension fund, the Government is looking for ways to ease the burden on firms by watering down benefits.
Richard Harrington, the pensions minister, explains why the system needs to be reformed. Britain is a “very different place” from when many of the schemes were set up, he says.

His stance today is in contrast to the tone of an earlier interview with this newspaper last September. Then, he said he was “very conscious of the fact” that final salary pensions were “part of an employee’s package and were used extensively as a way of recruiting staff”.
He added: “People were joining a company and were given a promise that was as much a part of their deal as their salary was.”
But now he concedes that savers will have to feel some pain if the system is to survive.
He writes today: “I have a very clear set of criteria in mind when it comes to the future of the defined benefit [final salary] sector. Any changes must balance the needs of consumers, employers and schemes and I don’t want to see it tipped in favour of one particular group.
“To restore confidence and build a more secure sector it’s vital that the interests of no one group dominate.”

50:50 chance of pension cut

A recent government consultation paper suggested that firms be allowed to freeze pension payments so they don’t keep pace with inflation.
That would save employers billions of pounds, while pensioners would find their income falling further and further behind rising prices. The Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), a pension fund lobby group, has estimated that there is only a 50:50 chance that the weakest schemes – which number in the thousands – will be able to pay out to members in full.
Part of the problem is that there are thousands of schemes, mostly set up decades ago when the companies that backed them were stronger and people didn’t live as long. They are often run inefficiently by part-time trustees who meet infrequently, and the industry regulator lacks the budget to oversee them properly.
The PLSA, among others, has suggested creating “super funds” that would enable employers to pay a one-off fee to absolve them of responsibility for the pensions. It said pooling assets in this way would protect pensions and make high-profile failures less likely.

Watch | Tips for managing your pension before retirement 02:25

But actuaries warn that companies could use the funds as a way to unfairly dump schemes they are perfectly capable of funding. Part of the reason final salary schemes are so valuable – and costly to employers – is that the payments are increased each year in line with inflation.
The rules vary from scheme to scheme, however, meaning that some pensioners have their payments lifted by the consumer prices index and others by the retail prices index.
One of the Government’s ideas is to allow trustees to override rules that prevent them from using the CPI, which is normally lower, or suspend increases entirely if the company is in financial difficulty.
A shift from increasing pensions in line with the RPI to using the CPI may sound minor but over the course of a normal retirement could result in pensioners receiving many thousands of pounds less. Cutting pension increases in this way was proposed at the height of the Tata Steel crisis.
The Indian parent company said the UK division’s £15bn pension scheme was draining resources and blocking a vital restructuring. Mr Harrington points out that public sector pension savers have already gone through such changes.
“CPI has already replaced RPI for the pensions of civil servants, the military, teachers, NHS staff and MPs,” he writes.
“And if using a modern and more accurate measure [of inflation] which still protects pensioners against rising prices also makes the scheme more sustainable in the long term, it is worthy of consideration.”
Because of the huge costs, the vast majority of private sector final salary schemes are now closed to new staff. However, almost all public sector workers – including MPs – still have the right to join their scheme.

Will your pension get swallowed by a “super fund”?

There around 6,000 final salary schemes in the country, but most are tiny and many are poorly run despite looking after billions of pounds of assets. Both the Government and the PLSA think giant “super funds” could be the answer.
The idea is that the pensions paid by super funds would be better than those offered by the Pension Protection Fund, a lifeboat scheme that guarantees the pensions promised by failed companies. It caps payouts for people yet to retire at 90pc and has an overall cap of around £38,000 for most people.
Under the PLSA’s plan, employers could pay to hand over responsibility for paying pensions to the super fund. Firms can already pay to have a scheme taken off their hands by insuring benefits with household names such as Legal & General – but the costs are extremely high, driven by rock-bottom interest rates.
Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown, the pensions company, said: “The terms of how weak employers can go into a super fund will be critical.
“For a super fund to be fair to the other participants you have to apply the same entry requirements, otherwise you’re just shifting liabilities.
“There is a recognition in the Government, PLSA and everywhere that we have too many schemes. It’s not a question of if we do it, but how we do it – and how much pressure is brought to bear to make it happen.”

Sir Philip Green eventually paid £363m to help fill a hole in the pension fund of failed retailer BHS Credit: HANDOUT

I’m worried my employer will go bust – can I move out of the scheme?

You have the right to swap your final salary pension for a “defined contribution” plan at any time before you start to receive payments. Trustees have to give you a “transfer value”, normally guaranteed for three months. This will be a multiple of the initial annual income the pension would have paid you.
So £5,000 a year could be swapped for a £125,000 lump sum, for example. In the past transfer offers were typically around 20 to 25 times annual income, but in recent months offers have rocketed to multiples of 40 or more.
Giving up the guaranteed, inflation-linked income of a final salary scheme should not be done lightly, but defined contribution pensions have attractions too. You have far more control over your money, with the option of taking ad hoc lump sums.
And on death, unused funds can be passed indefinitely down the generations. In final salary schemes the pension normally ends with the death of the pensioner or surviving spouse.
The City watchdog requires you to take financial advice if the value of the transfer is £30,000 or more. Charges vary but 1pc of the transfer value is typical.
Telegraph Money has previously reported on readers’ struggles to find advisers prepared to recommend a transfer.
Some advisers have refused to carry out a pension switch because they did not think it was in the best interest of savers – or feared they might make a complaint in the future.
The Government’s consultation on reforming final salary schemes closes on May 14.

Culled from Telegraph

4 Places Where It’s Not Safe to Put Your Money Anymore - Megan Elliott

Characters from Breaking Bad sleep on a pile of money | Source: AMC

Where do you keep your money? If you’re like 29% of Americans, it’s hidden in an old shoe box, buried under the towels in your linen closet, or tucked away in your sock drawer. An alarming number of people, including 41% of millennials, are keeping their savings at home, a 2015 American Express survey found, and more than half of savers have their cash squirreled it away in a “secret” location.
The old-school under-the-mattress savings technique appeals to people who use an envelope system for budgeting, as well as those who don’t trust banks. But it comes with risks, including the possibility your money will go missing.
“Hiding cash in a secret location is never a good idea,” Coleen Pantalone, associate professor of finance at the School of Business at Northeastern University, told Main St. You may forget where you put your money, or you could die, leaving behind clueless heirs who inadvertently sell the box with your savings at a garage sale.
Hidden in your home isn’t the only place where your money isn’t as safe as you think, especially if the savings vehicle is the wrong fit for your goals. Certificates of deposit (CDs) may seem secure because they earn guaranteed interest and are FDIC insured, but they’re the wrong place for a young person to put their retirement savings, because your return will be likely so low you’ll actually lose money to inflation. A 401(k) is good for retirement savings but a terrible place to keep your emergency fund because you can’t easily get at the money and you’ll pay penalties for early withdrawals.
While the best place to keep you money depends on your situation, there are some places where it rarely, if ever, belongs. Here are four places where you shouldn’t keep your money.

1. Under your mattress

Money stuffed under a mattress | Source: iStock

Before there were banks on every corner, many Americans had no choice but to keep their savings at home, but those days are long gone. While having some cash on hand for emergencies is smart, stashing your life savings under your mattress or in an old coffee can is a recipe for disaster. Money left moldering under your bed is actually losing value, since you’re not earning any interest to keep up with inflation. Not to mention the risk of losing your nest egg to theft, fire, or some other disaster. If you must keep your savings in cash, at least put it in a safe deposit box (though most banks discourage this). Or take a cue from Walter White and hide it in a storage locker.

2. In a savings account

Savings, piggy bank | iStock.com

Saving regularly is a responsible money move, but stashing your cash in a traditional savings account may be causing you to lose money. The average savings account was earning a measly 0.06% in interest in July 2016, according to the FDIC. Even at today’s relatively low inflation rates, that’s still not enough for your savings to keep up.
While savings accounts are a fine place to keep relatively small amounts of cash you’ll need in the short-term, they’re not a great place to keep your entire nest egg. For retirement and other long-term goals, you’ll need to look for investments that generally offer better returns, like stocks. But you do want some money in an easily accessible account so you can cover unexpected expenses like an emergency car repair. To earn a better return on your savings, look for higher-interest accounts from credit unions and community banks, or find a high-yield checking account.

3. Collectibles

Beanie Babies sit on a store shelf | JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Remember the Beanie Baby craze? In the late 1990s, people were so wild about these little stuffed animals that they bought them by the thousands, and rare beanies sometimes sold for thousands of dollars. One father “invested” more than $100,000 in Beanie Babies, only to see his savings vanish when the fad petered out. It’s a reminder that while collecting may be a fun hobby, it’s a risky place to keep your life savings.

“[T]he only way to make money investing in collectibles is to find someone who is willing to pay more for them than you did,” Gus Sauter, a senior consultant to Vanguard Group, told the Wall Street Journal. That can be a lot harder than it sounds, especially if the market for your collection dries up (see Beanie Babies). Plus, if you have an emotional attachment to your collection, selling it when you need cash can be difficult. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend your money on rare comic books or signed first editions, but you should realize what you’re doing isn’t an investment.
“Buy what you like because you might be holding it a long time. When you do sell, consider yourself lucky if you make a profit,” Rick Ferri, the founder of Portfolio Solutions, told the Journal.

4. Penny stocks

Wall Street sign, stock market | STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

Buying penny stocks has never been a smart investment. These bargain-basement stocks in small companies trade for under $5 a share. Information about the companies and their financials is hard to come by, and the stocks are usually sold over-the-counter, which means they don’t have to meet the same requirements as stocks sold on exchanges like the NYSE, Investopedia explained.
While the prospect of snapping up thousands of cheap shares before a stock takes off makes penny stocks tempting, they’re a high-risk investment. The chances of the company whose penny stock you’re buying turning into the next Google are slim, and they can be difficult to sell. Worse, scammers sometimes talk up an ultra-cheap stock to artificially inflate the price, then sell their overvalued shares just before the stock’s value collapses, a scheme known as “pump-and-dump.”
“Investors in penny stock should be prepared for the possibility that they may lose their whole investment,” the SEC warned.

Culled from Money & Career Cheat Sheet

NPA retirees stage protest over unpaid pension arrears

Hadiza-Bala-Usman

Hundreds of retirees of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Wednesday staged a protest at the Marina Headquarters of the organisation over what they called non-payment of their enhanced pension benefits. The protesters had converged on the towering office in the morning, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “NPA pay us our benefits“, “Ms Hadiza, our pension is our right“ and so on.
Some of the placards read: “NPA Management pay us as you have been paying yourselves’’..
Other inscriptions are: “Your enjoyment is our labour, pay us’’; “Harmonise our pension benefits’’ and “Hadiza, Woman of Integrity’’.
There was gridlock on the ever-busy Marina road for several hours as the protesters lined both sides and chanted songs demanding for the immediate payment of their enhanced pension arrears.
It took the intervention of policemen from the Port Police Unit and NPA security personnel to move some of the protesters off the road and restored traffic to normalcy.
A Spokesman for the pensioners, Mr Charles Binitie, said their action became inevitable after repeated efforts to get the enhanced arrears paid had failed.
“What we are doing today is not to fight the NPA management but to let them see the need to pay enhanced pension benefits to retirees.
“You see, most of our members are going through untold hardship because our pension has not increased for the past 15 years contrary to the law.
“The constitution says pensions should increase every five years but what NPA retirees have been getting since early 2,000 is the same thing. No increment.
“So, what we are demanding is the arrears on the normal increment that should have been added on our pension benefits to enable retirees cope with life“, he said.
Binitie said the retirees under the aegis of “Concerned Pensioners of NPA“ had made appeals to successive administrations of the organisation on the need to pay the enhanced pensions with no success.
He said though the Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman was still new in the system, she should look into the issue raised by retirees without delay to alleviate their sufferings.
Binitie said that for 10 years, the management of NPA had not been able to increase their pension. .
“We have over 11,000 pensioners of NPA all over country.
“We have been meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and now we have decided to come to NPA to express our feelings.
“We are planning to shutdown all the ports in Nigeria if they refuse to fulfil our demands,’’ Binitie said.
He commended the Management of NPA under the leadership of Ms Hadiza Usman for listening to their demands and for promised positive response.
Binitie also commended the efforts of the pensioners who trooped out to express their rights and engage in peaceful demonstration.
Also speaking, Mr Austin Adaridho, an Ex-executive member of NPA staff Union, said most ex-workers of the organisation had not been finding life easy owing to non-implementation of the enhanced pension.
The 2007 retiree said some pensioners got as little as N10,000 monthly, pointing out that the amount was too little for retirees to feed themselves let alone meet their other needs.
“We are calling on the NPA Management to implement the 33 per cent pension increment by the government and save retirees from dying .
“Things have been so difficult for some of the old workers,
“We are begging the management to reward our labour and show little appreciation for our contributions to the organisation,“ he said.
Adaridho said the retirees were fed up with excuses and could resort to actions that the NPA management would find embarrassing if nothing was done.
The NPA managing director assured that all pensioners qualified for pension increase in line with Federal Government Constitutional provision would enjoy same.
In her address to the representatives of the concerned pensioners of the NPA, she said that a committee would be set up to work out the details of the payment.
Usman said that the Authority “operates a salary structure different from the Federal Government Harmonised Public Service Salary and its associate structures’’.
She said that the Management assured the pensioners of monthly payment of pensions, saying that a mechanism would be put in place to guarantee adjustments that would be sustainable.

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