MAKING IT, SPENDING IT: MAKE OR MAR MONEY CHOICES

Why MSMEs Must Procure Micro Pension, Insurance Plans ( 2)

No doubt players in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector of the nation’s economy are most affected when natural disaster or risks occurs. More so, is the case when they occur during their old age when they have little strength to recoup their losses.

This is where micro pension comes into play. The fallback on the savings they have had while still active and agile, during their old age.

Micro Pension Plan which was established through the provisions of section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, aims at ensuring that the informal sector participants save towards their old age, as this category of workers constitutes a large percentage of the working population in the country.

The director general/CEO, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Chinyere Almona had earlier reeled out the benefits of micro pension to the informal sector to include: a safety net at retirement, and alignment with the current social empowerment programmes which minimizes old-age poverty and improves standard of living for the elderly.

Earlier in her keynote address, the director general, National Pension Commission (PenComm), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, who was represented at the occasion by the head, southwest office of PenComm, Dr Tunde Alayande said the onboarding of SMEs into the micro pension scheme is one of the strategies by which the pension industry has been contributing to the financial inclusion initiative of the federal government.

On his part, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr Oguche Agudah lamented the low adoption of the plan while describing it as a national emergency scheme which will be used to save the future of the country.

Operators, he said, must begin to look at how to make the scheme accessible and incentivized. The head, Micro Pensions Department at PenComm, Dauda Ahmed said the motive of coming to the fair has been achieved as more people are now interested in the micro pension plan.

“About 84,000 people have registered for the micro pension plans and in the last two months we have seen a spike in enrollment basically because of the increased awareness. We have been reaching out to unions, leadership of associations to have discussions with them so that they can convince their members on the plan. At old age, what matters is the cash that you have. So, if you have something that can give you steady form of income, you will want to sustain it,” he pointed out.

He advised entrepreneurs in the country to approach any of the pension fund administrators in the country to subscribe.