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Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers harp on pre-retirement planning

By on November 28, 2013

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, one of the leading Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the country, has underscored the need for workers to plan ahead of their retirement, saying this is the only way to ensure comfort in old age.

The Chief Executive Officer of the PFA, Dr. Demola Sogunle, said this in a statement issued at the end of the inaugural seminar on pre-retirement organised by his firm in Lagos recently.

He observed people were generally apprehensive about retirement because they do not plan for it early enough, adding that one should start planning for it from the day he takes on the first job. “It demands setting aside part of current income into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA),” he said.

Sogunle said planning for retirement should commence early in an individual’s working life since it takes many years to accumulate the funds with which to live comfortably when the monthly salary stops coming.

“The nascent Nigerian pension system, with defined contributions as its foundation as enshrined in the Pensions Reform Act of 2004, charts a clear path for employees to maintain a stable standard of living even well after retirement,” he added.

Speaking during the programme with theme, ‘Life Renewed at 55 and Beyond’, Sogunle said in addition to celebrating retirees and people about to retire as well as workers whose pension savings is being managed by Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, it was meant t provide an opportunity for the PFA to address their concerns or anxieties.

“No one will ever care about your retirement investments as much as you do, so educate yourself. When making retirement investments, seek professional assistance even the best athletes have coaches and even if you stop working for money; your money should never stop working hard for you.”

Sogunle gave participants three posers, saying, “no one will ever care about your retirement investments as much as you do, so educate yourself. When making retirement investments, seek professional assistance even the best athletes have coaches and even if you stop working for money; your money should never stop working hard for you.”

Also, during the programme, seasoned professionals made presentations on how to access retirement benefits; health in retirement and investment opportunities for post-retirement.

“We believe that the support, experience and capabilities of the Standard Bank group, to which Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited belongs, have been instrumental in enhancing our expertise, resource base and general service delivery; thus reinforcing our goal of providing excellent service to all our customers,” Sogunle said.

“In our eight years of existence, we have emerged as one of Nigeria’s biggest PFAs with over one million retirement savings account holders and assets under management of over N950 billion, paying close to N1.7 billion to over 29,000 retirees monthly.
“Over N178 billion has been paid to retirees since we commenced operations in 2005. Our aim is to continue to set higher standards of service delivery and ensure that our retirement savings account holders derive maximum value from their contributions,” the firm’s boss said.

“We want to help people plan for their retirement to ensure that the retirement phase is as rewarding and productive for them as possible,” he added.

 

 

[This Day]