‘Contributors detail critical for successful transfer window’
Efforts to increase contributor access to information on the benefits and workings of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have continued to occupy top position in the priority list and investment expenditure of Pension Fund Administrators (PFA’s). Wale Odutola, chief executive officer, ARM Pensions in this interview share his thought on the Company’s touch points with her clients, issues in the 2014 PRA among others. Excerpts
Following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2014, a number of initiatives were expected will come to boost pension benefits to individual contributors as well as the nation, including mortgage financing and infrastructure development. More than one year gone since the new law came on board, what is the position?
I think when you have such great ideas; either as regulator or operator what you keep doing is to continue to test and fine-tune them, make sure you have dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s, to make sure you have a successful initiative when you do launch. Between May last year and early this year, the regulator started engaging the Pension Fund Administrators essentially to get their own feedback on some of the initiatives the regulator has. What they have been doing is basically sharing with us as operators their thought on the guidelines they hope to implement when those initiatives take off.
And we as operators have been providing feedbacks so that when those initiatives are launched, they come out a well thought out initiatives and the potential of success is enhanced because of the rigour that has gone into their formulation. So, fairly, from a developmental standpoint on pension fund, we see some significant capital that needs to be channeled appropriately as well. So, there is fairly a meeting of minds between us the operators and the regulator in that regard and when those initiatives are eventually streamlined, we will be able to make such investments and the multiplier effect will not only benefit us but will also benefit the larger Nigerian economy.
Mortgages as well is another initiative that the regulator is working on, where as an RSA contributor, you can be able to access part of your contribution in securing a home for yourself by providing the equity fund for that investment.
Like I said, it’s still being formulated and going through the rigour of questioning the assumptions that have gone into it, and hopefully being fine tuned and refined such that the outcome will be an initiative that have the potential for success.
Contributors have waited long for the ‘Transfer Window’ to commence as provided in the Pension Reform Act 2004/2014, what is the update?
I think the regulator, and rightly so, is going through the rigour required when you want to introduce such a guideline that will have major impact on the industry. They have shared a few drafts on guidelines that would guide the transfer window.
Ideally, there are things that needed to be done first to make sure there is a platform that is solid enough to manage that process. And what the regulator has been busy doing all this while is to engage the PFA’s and the industry to ensure that there is a robust platform that would enable transfer window happen, and to manage the process and manage it efficiently. Other things that need to be done is proper documentation of details, so that if you do transfer, you are actually the one transferring. The regulator needs to pay a lot of attention to details to ensure that there are no hiccups. There must be biometrics to ensure that the right person is giving the instruction for transfer and all that.
And once that platform is developed, transfer window will commence. ARM pensions annually interface with its customers through a Customer’s Forum, what has been the import of that programme?
As a firm and given the fact that our business is retail in nature, we try to engage our individual clients on one on one basis, besides the work we do for institutions. It’s important we look for various touch points to engage with our clients such that they can hear from us and we can as well hear from them. The forum, which we hold on annual basis provide us the opportunity to do that, and as Group we are able to share the things we do as a firm to our clients. We are also able to share new innovations we are doing to serve them better and most importantly allow us to hear from them on things we need to do to improve the services we render to them.
It’s also an opportunity for our clients to engage each other, as they say that there is wisdom in large numbers. That opportunity enables them to share, network and in such environment you can never say what could come up that may be beneficial to each other, among our clients. We also use the opportunity to provide them with information on how best to plan their finances, whether they are retiring, retired or just starting.
As a group and platform, we provide touch points at various times in the life of clients and provide services that address the various needs at various times. As a young graduate for instance, your needs are different from that of a retiree or those close to retirement. Within the group, we are able to provide services that meet the need of people at different stages of their life. A subject matter of discussion at the event is how to write a Will. There you, will have ARM Trustees explain to clients on how to plan their estate or transfer their wealth.
We also bring subject matter experts from different areas and industries to share experiences on subject matters that can improve the quality of life of our clients.
ARM Pensions in 2014 flagged off a project titled “Run for the Future”, what is the objective of this programme and how was it able to meet your expectation?
The ARM Pensions “Run for the Future” is a 5km run/walk aimed at creating awareness amongst the general public on the importance of exercise and healthy living. When we started the programme last year, the idea was to bring clients and non clients together for net working, promotion of quality health and exercise. The maiden edition was very successful based on the feedback we got from those that participated, and so we decided to make it an annual programme for ARM Pensions. With that, in our own way, we are helping to promote healthy living amongst our clients and non clients, which is why we are holding it again this year and we intend to continue. If it’s possible, we will take it to other locations in Nigeria as well. It is another opportunity to engage our clients in a fun atmosphere, and this will be holding next month and quite a lot of people have shown interest.
One of the challenges still facing the pension industry today is about awareness, what other efforts are you putting in place as an organisation to enhance education of people about the benefits and operations of the industry?
We have got a number of communication platforms through which our contributors can call to make enquiries or ask questions about their pensions. These avenues allow us to engage with them, resolve their challenges and provide them with information. It’s a fact that clients do not know enough about the Act, what is there for them, how to access their money when they retire or lose their employment and how much they can access from their Retirement Savings Account (RSA). So, we look for every single opportunity we get in terms of our engagement with clients to educate them, even non clients. We have invested heavily on infrastructure, both in technology and people who sit on those platforms so at the various touch points we have with clients we try to educate them further so that there is clarity in their mind in terms of the benefit they stand to derive from the scheme, how the scheme can work for them over a long time. When we run adverts we also try to explain some of these things. What we also try to do is to invite the regulator at these events so that not only will you hear from the PFA, you also hear from those regulating the market.
It’s like hearing from the horse’s mouth, and it further brings credibility to what we are saying. Beyond these electronic platforms, what other efforts have you put in place to enhance clientele access?
In terms of outlets, we have branches spread across the country as well as contact centres where our customers could walk in, interact with our staff or do whatever business they need to do. We have full blown call centres in all languages to ensure that we interact and interact efficiently with the contributors. Beyond the in-back calls also there is the back calls, where we are the one initiating the calls to find out what the issues are to ensure that they are happy and where to improve our services for their benefit. There is also on-line access where we can engage our clients whether via website or via mobile apps that we are about to launch in a couple of weeks. So, for us we keep looking for opportunities to increase the number of touch points our clients have to interact with.
You have just presented your 2014 financials with the figures looking up, what has been your success secret?
As a firm, we pay a lot of attention to a few things. From an investment standpoint, we make significant investment into that platform. So, we ensure that the funds that have been kept in our care are managed properly and we take very long term views about our investment. So, the rigour, research and analysis that goes into the decision making process when we are making our investment is critical to us and that is one of the things that define us as a firm. So, from performance standpoint, we have been able to deliver to our client’s excellent performance over the years relative to even the industry. I think that is important to clients, and they realise that the performance has been consistent year on year. On the other, when it comes to service and relationship management, we have also made significant investment in our people as well as the technology that we use to deliver that service. I think the comfort our clients derive from that is critical.
As the Company CEO, what promises are you giving to your clients?
I think a lot of the assurances we give is tied to our history as a business, and those assurances are tied to our culture and our belief as a firm. The pillar that we sit on here is integrity, trust and for the fact that we make promises and keep to those promises, that we will continue to do. For past ten years, that is what we have built our organisation around.