If You’re Serious About Retirement, Pension Comes First – Tunji Andrews

The Co-founder of pension platform, Awabah, Tunji Andrews, urged future retirees to prioritise pension, as it should “be the first thing” to enjoy retirement life.

Andrews said this at the fourth edition of the BizWatch webinar series held on Wednesday while noting the low level of pension penetration in the country.

He attributed the low penetration to the complexities of the pension scheme to the average Nigerian employee.

He said that “There’s a general lack of knowledge on pension,” replete with the current statistical figure of Nigerians with a comprehensive retirement plan.

He said, “About 35 million Nigerians do not have retirement savings … only 11 million Nigerians have formal retirement savings plan.”

Andrews highlighted the importance of having a pension amid an acute absence of social security in Nigeria. He said that the social demographic mostly blighted by this absence is the “non-professional individuals”.

He stated that an economic disaster was brewing on the African continent if the issue of savings and retirement were not prioritised for a better retirement.

Citing a practical example, and common practice in many African households, he said that “Children are our default retirement savings options.”

Andrews’ words echoed the remarks of an earlier speaker, the Chief Investment Officer, Sigma Pensions Limited, Pabina Yinkere, who said that early savings would prevent an individual from being a future economic liability.

He posited that the control of “how much you save and how you save it” rested solely on the hands of the individual who seeks a better retirement.

For employees, Yinkere said that companies with “a minimum of three workers” are “mandated by the Pension Act” to make an arrangement for pension plans for their employees.

Giving more insights into the subject, he noted that considering the failure of some employers to remit contributions to the pension accounts of their employees, Pabina stated that employers that fail to implement the pension Act as enacted by the national assembly will be regarded as breaking the law.

He noted that the Act does not empower PenCom to prosecute companies that violate the provisions of the Act.

He stated that the window wherein it created an avenue to be able to hold companies culpable is that by law if any organization wants to bid for any Federal Government contract, the company must be seen to be compliant with the Pension Act.

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As the firm goes through the bidding process, the pension compliance certificate is required by the government MDA to ascertain if the company is qualified to bid for contracts.

Hence, companies that fail this requirement cannot bid for government contracts.

He urged workers who work in organizations that do not remit their pension contribution to not relent in their effort, by applying pressure on the management of the organization as well as writing to PenCom to ensure the company complies.

Pabina encouraged employees who consider taking legal options to demand their rights to a pension from their employers to do so when they have the opportunity to do so. He, however, advised such parties to consider the shortcomings of the justice system, which sometimes takes a long period of time.

Seated among the speakers was the State Secretary, Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Ogun State, Comrade Bola Lawal who, in his submission decried the neglect of pensioners by state governments.

He said that pensioners in various states face challenges receiving their gratuities and pension, adding that “state governors are not willing to increase pensions”.

Moderating the webinar was BizWatch Nigeria’s Ifeoluwa Ogunfunwa.