NCS partners pension fund administrators on retirement

AS part of the efforts to make retirement easier and less burdensome for men and officers of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), the NSC has partnered with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to strengthen their knowledge on the procedures and processes on how to boost their retirement benefits.

In his opening remark at the two days intensive interactive session on Retirement Planning under the Contribution Pension Scheme (CPS) held at the NCS Zone ‘D’ headquarters, Bauchi, the NCS Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘D’,Assistant Comptroller-General Felix Ademuyiwa Dosumu said the workshop was designed to provide opportunity for both the junior and senior officers to strengthen their role and gain insight on how to save and plan for financial security and good health on retirement.

He said this will make the officers access, analyze, interpret and manage their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) adding that it will also deepen their knowledge on pension contribution, remittances and terminal benefits.

In his presentation at the workshop;’’ Retirement Planning in Everyday Life’’,Assistant Comptroller(AC)Herbert Edema, Officer-in-charge, Pension, NCS headquarters, Abuja said ‘’this interactive session is meant to sensitize, stimulate and sustain interest in retirement planning’’.

According to him, ‘we are organizing this interactive session with our officers to allay the fears of misery, health challenges and poverty in retirement as well as to enable them appreciate the benefits of creating and growing wealth. Retirement life without a plan is like a sail boat without rudder’’.

‘’Retirement is real and inevitable. You must be prepared for it while in active service, so, start planning for your retirement now, your tomorrow starts from today. Therefore, we are using this forum to have an insight to how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and knowledge that only the living can enjoy’’.

He explained that the forum was meant also to enlighten officers on making informed choices between programmed withdrawal and Annuity,noting that ‘’the benefits of retirement planning include fighting the feelings of helplessness or worthlessness as well as caters for the increase chance of life expectancy and lack of social security’’.

While highlighting the various challenges of retirement planning to include non computerization of the NCS Pension office, anxiety about residential home due to lack of functional Mortgage system and total dependence on one’s low salary which translate to zero or little saving culture,he enjoined the service to introduce severance package to all officers in addition to their retirement benefit.