Stories by  ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Executive Director, Operations and Services of Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Kayode Akande, has said that   the new pension scheme is still undersubscribed with only about six million subscribers considering the fact that about sixty million Nigerians have one form of employment or another.

Akande made the assertion during the company’s Customer/Retiree Interactive Forum in some states of the South West region of the country.

Akande noted that the contributory pension scheme is growing and assuming its pride of place in the socio-economic landscape of the country.   He reiterated the fact that almost N4trillion is under the management of the scheme that has enlisted almost six million people.

Akande therefore called on all stakeholders to support the scheme saying, “The pension scheme in any country enables the amassment of long term investible funds to grow economy.”

He described the new scheme as very secure and the law setting it up, even when it is under review, has not left loopholes for corrupt practices. “Since the new scheme started almost a decade ago, there have not been cases of corruption in it,” he said. “All the objectives of the contributory pension scheme have almost been met and there has not been any pensioner under the new scheme that has had cause to go on any form of protest.”

Premium Pension concluded Customer/Retiree Interactive Forum in some states of the South West region and the tour has already taken the management of the company to Ogun, Oyo and Osun states. Meeting the retirees and intending retirees is a periodic exercise aimed at gauging the success of the operations of the company in particular and the contributory pension scheme in general.

“It is meant to show us how the retirees are doing in retirement after many years of service” Akande said while flagging off the interactive forum in Abeokuta, Ogun State. “This forum also serves to educate intending retirees on what they should do in the months leading to their final disengagement from work to facilitate their receiving their gratuities and pension in good time.”