Premium Pension Boss Lists Dangers of Unplanned Retirement

“Many MDAs have complied and it is going to have positive impact on the economy,” he added.

On their part, analysts at Afrinvest West Africa Limited argued that “in light of the TSA policy, we expect the CBN to unleash the strings on public sector deposits from the current 75 per cent as we anticipate less public funds will be available to the banks.”

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy/Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala earlier this month confirmed that the federal government had successfully moved MDAs’ accounts to the CBN.

She had said the move would help the central bank to effectively manage the funds of the government. The minister said the new platform would enable the government to manage its account balances effectively. AUTOMATIVE POLICY LIFTS MOTOR ASSEMBLY SECTOR BY 26% power supply. “The actual energy generation figure nationally as at 03 May was 3,135 megawatts (MW), well below national demand of over 12,000MW. Towards the end of April the generation output was as low as 2,800MW, which the federal ministry of power attributed to gas pipeline vandalism. “Despite potent challenges, the NAC still insists that the country is capable of rolling out 25, 000 locally manufactured vehicles by the end of this year. A few industry players argue that the country is not ready to embark upon developing a mature auto industry. In our view, this is attainable in the long term. However, expanding the auto parts segment through the local content policy would hasten the process, “they said. The analysts said the credit scheme vehicle also developed by NAC with WesBank is yet to kick-off due to a delay from the CBN on the approval of an operational licence. Retirement that is not preceded by proper planning and preparedness could spell disaster for both the retiree and the society, Managing Director of Premium Pensions ltd Mr. Wilson Ideva has said.

Ideva who made this assertion recently in Asaba, Delta State Capital while delivering a paper at the second edition of the Delta State Bureau of State Pensions Annual Lecture series noted that enjoying a hitch-free retirement goes beyond receiving a lump-sum and regular programmed withdrawal benefit from one’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA).

According to him, It also requires in-depth planning and profound mental and psychological conditioning of the retiring worker to equip him to seamlessly adjust to a different kind of life after decades of service to society.

Ideva in the paper titled: “Towards Sustaining Stronger Relations Between State and Local Government Bureaux of Pensions and Pension Fund Administration: The Delta State Experience”, dwelt extensively on the consequences of lack of understanding of the basic requirements for a happy life in retirement and associated ill-preparedness for it.

He noted that retirement ill-prepared for could spell disaster both for the retiree and the society and consequently gives the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) a bad name and erode the initial gains.

“The onus falls on the Bureaux of Pensions and the pension operators to run preparatory programmes for workers, especially those on the verge of retirement.”

He further noted that economically, socially and psychologically stable retirees are the most effective advertisement for the CPS.

He therefore called for synergy of all stakeholders in the CPS to ensure that the gains of the industry in the past decade are sustained.

“Partnership of relevant government institutions, especially the Bureaux of Pension and the pension operators in the country is the sine qua non for sustaining the current gains of the Contributory Pension Scheme and even expanding its scope and proliferating its inherent opportunities” , he said .

The Premium Pension boss called for the prioritisation of awareness creation on the importance and workings of the CPS.

To ensure that many more workers are covered by the pension scheme, Mr Ideva advised that government should plan to expand and redefine its programmes as it relates to the private sector and incorporate in-built strategies to accommodate the pension requirements of participants, beneficiaries and key actors as the case may be.

He also noted that expanding the CPS to the informal sector of the economy as permitted by the Pension Reform Act 2014 requires some measure of creativity and professionalism on the part of key actors to actualise its objectives..

He noted that the CPS is one of the most successful government initiatives that still harbours even greater potential” he said. “It requires ingenious and concerted approaches to lift it to the next level.”

Ideva also commended the Delta State Government under the leadership of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for its pioneering effort in entrenching the CPS.

He thanked the state government for the solid structures put in place to realise the objective of the scheme in the state noting that the CPS has been irreversibly entrenched in the state.

“The State stands out as one of the most consistent states in the processing and remittance of workers/ government contribution to workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as well as payment of retirement and death benefits”

“Needless to say that the success of CPS has rekindled workers’ confidence in the system and by extension generated a conducive environment for loyalty and increased productivity” , Ideva stated.

Premium Pension Limited is a Leading Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) licensed by the National Pension Commission in December, 2005 under the new Pension Reform Act, 2004. The Company took off in 2005 with an initial Share capital of N500 million but has grown to a total shareholder funds of N1.3 billion.