Pension fund assets has not only hit N14.42tr as at end of September 2022, the National Pension Commission is at top gear bringing the benefits of the contributory pension scheme CPS to the civil societies.
These came to the fore as the Director-General of the Commission, Aisha Dahir-Umar (pictured) welcomed civil society groups for a sensitisation conference at Rockview Hotel Royale, Wuse II, Abuja, pointing out that, “This conference provides a great opportunity for the Commission to enlighten and interact with relevant Civil Society Groups in other to elicit better understanding of the contributory pension scheme (CPS) and the Commission’s activities in general.”
It was also a platform to sustain the push of the micro pension plan (MPP) which she exposed to them that it was conceptualised to expand pension coverage to the informal sector, including small-scale businesses, entertainers, professionals, petty traders, artisans, and entrepreneurs.
PenCom boss said MPP aims to curb old-age poverty by assisting the participants to contribute while working and build long-term savings to fall back on when they are no longer in active working life.
To earn the expected coverage which is still off mark, Aisha said the Commission is facilitating efforts by the Pension fund administrators to provide incentives for the MPP. One key incentive that is being worked upon is the provision of health insurance to the micro pension contributors. This recognises the need for the MPP to provide more access to health care services, which is lacking in critical times of need.
Staying on the lane of facilitating efforts of PFAs Aisha said the strategic efforts to drive MPP remains one of the important areas of focus of the Commission.