By Chiamaka Ajeamo
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) have said they are ready to deepen the micro pension penetration rate amongst Nigerians in the informal sector this year.
This development is coming on the backdrop of the low subscription on micro pension two years after its inception, prompting the regulator to mandate Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to develop and forward an annual media campaign plan to drive subscription before 31 January of every year.
PenCom revealed that as at August 2021, informal sector subscribers to the micro pension plan was 70,000 out of over 90.91 million workers in the nation’s informal sector, leaving 90.21 million workers uncovered under the commission’s Micro Pension Plan (MPP).
To bridge this gap, the PFAs are expected to set up appropriate structures to effectively carry out enlightenment and public awareness for registered and prospective Micro Pension Contributors (MPC); protect registered and prospective MPC from false and misleading information; form the basis for monitoring and evaluating the enlightenment and public awareness efforts of the Commission and PFAs on the MPP and achieve the Pension Industry’s strategic vision on expanded coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
PenCom said Sections 5.3.1(c) and 5.4.1(i) of the Guidelines for Micro Pension Plan 2018 stipulate that the Commission shall “Create awareness by carrying out public enlightenment and education on the establishment, operations and management of MPP” and PFAs shall “conduct regular public awareness, enlightenment and education on Micro Pension Plan”, respectively.