China Izuora
When the federal government observed some lapses in the 2004 Pension Act, the intention was to lace pension administration with rigid security features to protect pensioners’ money.
It, therefore, reviewed the law to further strengthen the industry regulator, the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
But operators, both in the insurance industry and pension administration, have adopted illicit steps to sustain their businesses at the expense of contributors.
Ultimately, the Pension Reform Act 2004 ushered in a uniformed Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for workers in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria. The implementation of the law started in June 2004, and reformed the crisis-ridden, unfunded and under-funded defined benefit pension schemes in the country. Before then, the huge and increasing pension liabilities in the public sector needed to be addressed and most workers in the private sector were not covered by any form of retirement benefit scheme. The inefficient administration of pension schemes and demographic shifts made defined benefit scheme unsustainable.
Under the new CPS, both employers and employees were mandated to contribute certain percentage of an employee’s total emoluments into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) opened by the worker with a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). The scheme, which is complemented by a group life insurance to the tune of 300 per cent of the individual worker’s emolument, also allows withdrawals under strict conditions. The accumulated pension assets in the custody of the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) are being privately managed by the PFAs while the PenCom regulates and supervises pension operators.
Putting the challenges, gains, implementation drive and sustainability of the CPS into perspective, it is evident that breakthroughs have been recorded in the last 10 years. The number of contributors has increased; more workers in the private and informal sectors are covered and the scheme has continued to impact positively on the Nigerian economy.
The CPS had generated a pool of long term investible funds that is attractive to fund managers, investment advisers and capital market operators who want to access part of the fund for different purposes.From the lessons learnt, identified loopholes and areas for improvement, the stage was set for the amendment of the enabling law. The amendments were to take care of shortfalls in coverage, address supervisory and enforcement challenges, correct anomalies in the taxation of pension assets and enable deployment of the pension fund to develop infrastructure.
There was need to criminalise fraudulent diversion and conversion of retirement savings of workers and retirees and bring the pension reform law in tune with current developments. The above necessitated a change in the strategy with a view to exploring new investment windows for pension funds among other things. However, today bitter rivalry between the insurance industry and the pension sector has thrown up serious unprofessional practices. The insurance industry claim that all over the world pension fund management is placed under the insurance sector but in Nigeria the government has separated administration of pension, thus, creating another institution to manage pension funds.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP recently, the president of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr Oladapo Shoderu, lamented the decision to deny the insurance sector from managing pension funds. Shoderu did not even believe that the present structure could be properly managed and expressed fears that if professionals are disregarded in the management of this critical sector, the pension industry, it might be possible to experience the ugly trend that characterised the management of pensioners money.
Under the present structure, pensioners who opt for annuity choose an insurance company licenced by the National Insurance Commission (NaiCom) to manage their retirement benefits while those under programmed withdrawal have their funds with the PFA licenced by the PenCom.
But of recent, some insurance brokers who want to sustain their businesses embarked on a campaign of denigration to persuade contributors to opt for annuity. It came to a point where such brokers would forge letters of consent on behalf of contributors and forward to the PenCom seeking transfer of their funds into their care.Leadership gathered that the PenCom has unearthed such criminal moves and is investigating them.
A competent source within the regulatory agency told our correspondent that many cases are under investigation and perpetrators would be punished.
“This is a violation of the Pensions Act and if this is allowed to happen, then, the industry is threatened and that is why we are ensuring that we enforce all aspects of the law,” the source said.
The source further revealed that apart from the brokers’ threat, those under the funded pension scheme face similar problems. According to her, because government is not regular in the pension payment, fraudsters now approach frustrated pensioners to pay certain amounts of money to enable them approach the pensions’ office to process their payment.
“We are receiving all kinds of complaints here and the fraudsters are taking advantage of the situation of pensioners in the old scheme to swindle them and now some operators in the industry are adopting dubious ways to confuse contributors on annuity,” the source observed.
A pension annuity is a financial product which converts a lump sum of capital into a regular income at the age of retirement.By paying into a fund throughout one’s working life, one will build up a lump sum of capital which will become one’s pension fund. At the point retirement, this lump sum will be used to purchase an annuity which will provide a regular income for one for the rest of one’s life.
Using the same philosophy as an insurance policy, a pension annuity is a way of saving now to ensure financial protection at retirement.
A retiree on programmed withdrawal (PW) with a PFA can move to another PFA. The retiree can change to annuity with an insurance company if he or she opts for that. But it should be known that under the scheme return on investment belongs to the retiree in his retirement savings account (RSA). The PFAs under PW forward daily and monthly return to the PenCom and the retiree receives a periodic RSA statement. Under the PW, retiree’s assets are held by a programme fund custodian (PFC) but a retiree on annuity with an insurance company can move to another insurance company after two years.
A retiree on annuity with an insurance company cannot change to PW with any PFA as the fund is in the annuity pool with an insurance company.The return on investment belongs to the pool while the insurance companies are to forward monthly and quarterly returns to the Naicom. No statement of account is given and annuity retiree assets are held by the insurance company.
Under the Pension Act, a retiring employee has an option of purchasing Life Annuity or Programmed Withdrawal or a combination of both but cannot be compelled by any person or entity to choose between Life Annuity and Programmed Withdrawal. Annuity contract, for the purpose of the regulation, is Life Annuity which lasts over the lifetime of the retiree and once the contract is sealed, a retiree cannot change from Life Annuity to Programmed Withdrawal.
Where a retiree chooses to withdraw a lump sum before purchasing annuity, the amount required to purchase annuity must first be determined before any such lump sum withdrawal can be effected. The amount proposed for the purchase of Life Annuity by a retiree must not be less than 50 per cent of his annual remuneration as at the date of his retirement, as required by the Act. A retiree can change his insurer but not earlier than two years after the execution of an annuity contract while the guaranteed period must not be less than 10 years.
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