Pension administrators want governments to key fully into CPS

Experts in the nation’s pension industry have urged governments at all levels to key in fully to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for their workers for economy growth.Presently, some states of the federation are operating a Pension Bureau, while some registered the states’ workers into the CPS led by the national Pension Commission and others are yet to comply fully or begin the process.

CPS is described as a means to a “better end”, especially as only states that subscribed to the scheme and issue a bond could access the more than N9trillion already accumulated.

The Chairman, IEI Anchor pension, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, while lauding Federal Government for remaining steadfast in its commitment to improve the conditions of retirees by supporting the scheme, called on the state governments to follow suit by setting up Pension Bureau.“The CPS enables workers to retire better. It is, however, regrettable that some states are yet to establish the necessary legislative framework that would enable them to key into the system.

“We urge them to establish the administrative structure that will drive the implementation of CPS in the states to enable them to access the available funds and enable workers retire well,” he said.Zwingina noted that he company’s growth trajectory recorded upswing, as its Retirement Savings Accounts also grew from 117,031 in 2017 to 131,047 in 2018.

“Our Assets Under Management had 34.96 per cent increase from N68, 231, 022, 724 Billion to N92, 081, 663, 564 Billion between January 2018 and December 2018. Operations of the company ran smoothly, thereby leading to a general growth in the company.

“However, our Retirement Savings Accounts grew from 117,031 in 2017 to 131,047 in 2018,” he said.But the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Glory Etaduovie, said the company’s Fees Earned increased from N661 million in 2017, to N774 million in 2018, representing a 17 per cent growth.
“RSA Fund Unit price (now Fund II) grew from N2.21 in 2017 to N2.42 billion in 2018, a growth of 9.62 per cent as Retiree Fund Unit price (now Fund IV) grew to N2.85 billion, a growth of 11.44 per cent during the year under review.

“Profit after Tax, he said, increased to from N1.4 million in 2017 to N34.01 million – a growth of 2329 per cent in 2018,” he said.
Stating that 2018 performance was targeted at driving and ensuring customer satisfaction, he added that, the Customer service center at its head office was given a major facelift to make it more welcoming and comfortable to its clients, among other initiatives.

In 2019, he said the company intends to continue in its quest to satisfy its numerous customers with a wider market base, while increasing the use of technology to reach and serve them.“Hence, our theme for 2019 is Inclusion and Digitisation. We intend to bring everybody on board by reaching out to every segment of the economy. We will be relying more on technology to achieve this goal,” he stressed.