Pension is your right …, secure your future

If you fail to contribute to your pension plan, you will not be happy when your retirement comes. This is the truth and those who fail to plan have always regretted. So, retirement is a very important period in once life that must be prepared for. It’s a period during which a person is no longer able to work, meaning that income from paid employment ceases to come. So, the person would have to depend on his or herpension plan made during active work life to continue the rest of his life.

Given the importance of retirement, it becomes important that steps are taken with every sense of commitment towards ensuring that nothing affects the preparations because that very important period is ahead waiting.

Therefore, if there is anything that should beof great concern to you as an employee, it should be your pensions because it determines how well you live in retirement.

The Pension Reform Act 2014 has placed the future of workers in their hands by empowering them to report employers who fail to comply with the laws.

Misbahu Yola, immediate past chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) said “You are responsible for your pension. If you find out that your employer is deducting money from your salary for pension and not remitting same, it is your responsibility to complain to your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), who approaches the employer or report formerly to the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

“There is a complain channel at PenCom. While the PFAs don’t have the powers to enforce complains, PenCom has the powers of enforcement – they have an enforcement department. In some instances, PenCom has engaged recovery agents to recover the pensions. Employees must rise up because the law backs them.”

“They must find a means to get their employers remit their pensions. The employee must come together and pressure the employer to pay. When your self help fails, then you can approach PenCom. PenCom has the power of prosecution. You don’t have to be afraid but if you are afraid, you can write anonymously to PenCom.”

He noted that complaints received from some employees are vague, as they failed to provide specific details. “We really need to speak up. If people are afraid of speaking up because they are afraid to get their rights, how would others get it for them? Individuals have a big role to play,” he posited.

He said the association and PenCom are working assiduously to ensure workers future is secured, stressing that they have established partnership with federal parastatals such that if you want to do a job with government, you will have to show a certificate of compliance.

Given the importance, it is most advisable that you take active part in knowing how your pension is managed, right from your employers table to the mangers of the fund.

This is the beauty of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as provided in the Pension Reform Act 2004 and amended in 2014.

Being therefore a part responsibility of the employee to make contributions to the pension purse, he or she must always and keenly monitor developments in his retirement savings account being managed by his Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).

The whole essence of the pension scheme being to ensure that every person who worked in either the public service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory or Private Sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due, gives the employee contributor rest of mind to continue his working career.

While this would provide the basic comfort in retirement, employees have the opportunity to boost their savings to guarantee a higher level of comfort in retirement. This is through a personal pension plan, which could be worked out with your PFA on request.

The Contributory Pension Scheme, as the name suggests, is contributory in nature, making it mandatory on employers and employees in both the public sector and private sector organisations with three or more workers to contribute 10 and 8 percent respectively of the emoluments of the employee into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA).

Apart from ensuring that every worker receives his entitlement as and when due, the other objectives of the scheme includes to assist improvident individuals by ensuring that they save in order to cater for their livelihood during old age.