Chuks Udo Okonta
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said it would put in place special registration process to ease the stress associated with registration and participation for targeted workers in the informal sector.
Head, Research and Corporate Strategy Department PenCom, Dr. Farouk Aminu, disclosed this in a paper titled: “Contributory Pension for Self Employed Tailors and Garment Workers”, delivered recently in Lagos. He noted that the special registration, is necessary because of the peculiarities of the the sector.
He identified major challenges in the sector to include, absence of formal structures; low and irregular incomes earned by workers except those on fixed salaries; highly mobile and flexible jobs and lack of permanent work address in many instances amongst others.
Dr. Farouk said the above peculiarities require special registration and customer service platforms even as the Commission is anticipating erratic contributions, remittance and withdrawal arrangements.
PenCom, he said, hopes to make the scheme flexible to accommodate workers in the informal sector and self-employed persons, adding that the Commission is ready to partner trade associations, Non Governmental Organisation (NGOs) and religious bodies to make the Scheme work, he added.
Director-General PenCom Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who spoke on benefits accruable from the initiative, said there would be incentives like apportionment of contributions where one portion is treated as savings for pension and the second portion treated as voluntary contribution which could be accessed not more than four times in a year.
"The contributions could also be used as collateral for mortgage, provision of health insurance etc. The framework also sets out the registration process, medium of remittance of contributions which would include the use of mobile money transfer, internet banking etc. It also highlighted how benefit could be accessed by contributors," she said.
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