N7bn not yet credited to PFAs – PenOp
By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
UMBRELLA body for operators in the nation’s pension industry, Pension Operators of Nigeria, PenOp, has revealed that a whooping N7billion pension fund contributed by workers have not been remitted to workers’ Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, by their employers.
Chairman of PenOp, Mr. Dave Uduanu, who spoke at a one day seminar organized by National Pension Commission, PenCom, in Enugu, suggested that a seamless approach to ensure that remittances received from contributors are promptly credited must be put in place.
Speaking on “ Sustaining the contributory scheme– The role of stakeholders”, Mr. Uduanu who is also the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Pension Alliance Limited, said “As a way to sustain the benefits of the Contributory Pension scheme, the operators need to make their presence available in all parts of the country.
“The business being retail inclined needs to be taken to the clients domicile irrespective of the cost. There has to be huge investment in ICT and infrastructure to deliver good services and therefore retain the confidence of the scheme subscriber.
“Operators must appoint relationship officers to each of their clients for the purpose of prompt conflict resolution and ensuring customer satisfaction is guaranteed.” “As at September 30, 2011 balance outstanding on un-credited contribution in the industry was close to N7 Billion. A seamless approach to ensure that remittances received from contributors are promptly credited must be put in place.
“Approval request on benefit payments, be it Temporary Access (25% for temporary loss of job) or Lump sum on Program Withdrawal or Transfer for Annuity must be promptly treated to the delight of the customer. Unnecessary bottlenecks between the Operator and the Regulator that delay services to the customer must be avoided. The Commission is being called upon to establish offices (as promised) in the geo-political zones to quicken resolution of issues especially those requesting minor approvals.
“This will improve greatly on service delivery in the industry. The Operators have to increase their number and location of Customers’ Conferences. The conferences serve many purposes including, awareness of the scheme to the populace, problem resolution mechanism and generally, mobilization of the citizenry towards the scheme.”
On the role of the Regulator as a key stakeholder in sustaining the scheme, he noted that “without doubt the Commission can be said to have done creditably well within this past 6 years. We hope time will be sufficient for their completion of outstanding issues that are facing the industry before their exit.
“We are all aware that issues such as Minimum Pension Guarantee; Transfer Window; Industry Consolidation; creation of Multiple Funds, etc are on the front burners of the Commission. The Commission must ensure that the Informal Sector group is also co-opted into the scheme by providing a durable guideline that will allay their fears if any. These are issues that will go a long way to sustain the scheme.”
“Another key stakeholder whose role represents a significant sensitivity test on the sustainability of the scheme is the Operator. The Operator here refers to the PFA, (whether Closed or Open), the PFC and the Custodians. The need for the Operators to continually improve on their service delivery cannot be over-stressed.
“This remains as the only way to retain the confidence of not only the Contributor but all other stakeholders in the industry. The level of insider abuse in the industry cannot be said to be a threat for now. But where it is not nipped in the bud, it might escalate as any other form of vice. It is reasonably assumed that at the completion of the consolidation exercise, the vibrancy of the industry will over shadow any tendency towards insider abuse.”
