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Chuks Udo Okonta
Life Insurance operators who engage in unwholesome practices in order to sell their annuity products have been advised to refrain from such vices to forestall confusing retirees.
The Director-General Lagos State Pension Board (LASPEB) Mrs Folashade Onanuga, said this at a forum in Lagos, stressing that most insurance operators are giving the wrong information to retirees.
She noted that her office had been approached by some retirees who claimed that some insurers have promised them things not stipulated in the laws.
She therefore called on all operators in the pension business to play the game according to stipulated laws.
According to the National Pension Commission (PenCom) Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have continued to lead in retirement benefits business with 106,421 retirees settling for Programmed Withdrawal and 15,976 opting for Annuity which is managed by insurers.
PenCom stated that the total number of retirees on programmed withdrawal increased by 3,340 from 103,081 as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014 to close at 106,421 as at the end of the first quarter, 2015, an increase of 3.24 per cent.
PenCom stated that it received a total of 1,914 applications for retirement under the life annuity plan in the quarter, adding that all the requests were approved, which brought the total number of retirees on annuity to 15,976 retirees.
The commission noted that a total premium of N79.18 billion was approved for payment to insurance companies on behalf of the 15,976 retirees in return for monthly payments amounting to N790.10 million.
PenCom noted that the sectoral breakdown of the total number of retirees shows that while the public sector accounted for 1,322 retirees (38.43 per cent) the private sector accounted for 2,118 retirees (61.57 per cent) in the first quarter of 2015.
The commission said the monthly lump-sum withdrawals on programmed withdrawal in the first quarter of 2015 was N2.55 billion, which cumulatively amounted to N257.43 billion from inception to the end of the period under review.
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