The National Pension Commission(PenCom) has put in place a comprehensive plan to enlighten the informal sector operators, other prospective Micro Pension Plan (MPP) subscribers on the workings of the MPP.
President Muhammadu Buhari launched the MPP on March 28 in Abuja.
NAN reports that the MPP is a part of the 2014 Pension Reforms Act, introduced to ensure financial security for the informal sector.
The scheme is meant to incorporate tailors, artisans, hairdressers, carpenters, those in the entertainment industry, among others, in a bid to grow the pension assets.
Mr Peter Aghahowa , Head Corporate Communications of PenCom told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the informal sector constitutes an estimated 69 million work force in Nigeria and represents an estimated 88 per cent of Nigerian workers that lack pensions and safety nets for their old age.
Aghahowa said:“ One of the fulcrum on which this will rotate is education and enlighten, because the informal sector people need to be properly enlightened on the workings of the scheme.
“The way implementation of MPP has been designed is that the next thing is comprehensive and intensive enlightenment, because for the informal sector, they have to know how the MPP works.
“So a very comprehensive plan to enlightenment for the would be contributors has been put in place.’’
He said the enlightenment would be championed by PenCom , the Pension Fund Administrators(PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) and other stakeholders.
“It is going to be all encompassing because we are harping on enlightenment , we believe that if they know how the scheme works ,success is already guaranteed.
He described the launch of the MPP as historic, noting that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) was being expanded to cover the informal sector .
“This is historic, because before now the self employed people do not have the opportunity to save for pension .
“It is going to give opportunity for self employed people and organisation with less than three persons to have that opportunity of serving for pension.
“The major difference between MPP and CPS is that the MPP has taken into considerations the peculiarities of the people in the informal sector, because their income are irregular.
“So their contributions can be daily, monthly, quarterly, as it suites them , based on the kind of business they have .
“We have also taken into considerations that liquidity is very key and so they have the opportunity of being able to access 40 per cent of what they have contributed.
“So this is a scheme that works in a such way that 60 per cent is fixed for the pension and 40 per cent is flexible and accessible for contingent issues.
“Those are some the key highlights of the MPP that makes it quite different from the formal pension scheme.’’
He said the commission had done marvelously well, since the enactment of the pension reform act.
“You know the beauty about this is that CPS for the formal sector has run for well over 10 years and we have recorded tremendous success in that area .
“So extending it to the micro pension is an indication, that if it has worked for the formal sector and we have done very well over 12 years.
“We have not had any fraud, the beneficiaries have all given very good recommendation about the CPS so , that is one of the confidence that the people that are going to come into the MPP will also have.
“Safety of the funds is a key and principal objective of the commission ,We have achieve that for the formal sector and we are also going to archive that for the micro pensions plan.” (NAN)
