Chiamaka Ajeamo

Experts in the financial sector have warned that the dire  economic condition of  the country calls for crucial action in planning for the future. 

According to them, there is an urgent need for Nigerians to pay more attention to government policies as they relate to investment of insurance and pension funds as a guarantee  for the future.

The experts who converged on the 2019 Peninscope Professional Warranty public lecture and award with the theme “Securing the Future in the Present: How and Why?’, explained that the present is the basis for the future and how an individual plans for the future in today’s dynamic world would determine what  he obtains or becomes in the future when it eventually comes.

The Chairman of the event and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, Biyi Otegbeye, charged participants and the public to leverage all good investment portfolios to secure their future, stressing that those who envisage better retirement should begin to plan it immediately.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA Pension Custodians Limited, Bayo Yusuf, who was the lead speaker at the event, said that three major things are required in securing the future including God, relationship and good health.

Yusuf canvassed the need to save, arguing that saving should be encouraged when one is economically engaged. According to him, people should cultivate the habit of paying themselves from their earnings.

He advised the public to embrace the contributory pension scheme and those in the informal sector should join a micro-pension plan as both platforms were designed to carter for the time people may not have the power to work.

Yusuf also implored the public on  the need for life and health insurance, as both portfolios help in ensuring a better life at old age.

He also called for investment in bonds, real estate, properties, stating that the future should be properly planned as it remains the best time to live in.

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Commenting on the rationale for the event,  Peninscope Professional Warranty, said  the lecture was organised to provide an opportunity for professionals and stakeholders in the Pension and insurance industry to brainstorm and share experiences on the way forward on issues facing the sectors.

The lecture also examine various investment options, as well as the effectiveness of regulatory bodies including the National Insurance Commission, the National Pension Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Security and Exchange Commission, the company said.

It stressed that it was also aimed to appreciate companies and individuals for their various contributions towards the development of the industry, as well as launch the sixth edition of PensionScope magazine.

It stated, “Pension and insurance have been the two industries closely related because they are guided by the same principle: security and investment.

Unfortunately, they have been badly hit by missiles emanating from misinformation, corruption, and mismanagement. All these thrive because people have not been properly informed and educated.”

According to the firm, this has led to a high level of fraud in both the pension and insurance industries.

“Because both beneficiaries and claimants have suffered not only in silence but also in the open, hence the inevitable explosion leading to exposure of various forms of corruption in the industries,” it added.

It also said that Peninscope is made up of professionals in both pension and insurance with over 30 years of experience.

The Principal Partner Peninscope Professional Warranty Limited, Peter Adedeji, said  that there was a need to bridge the invisible gap causing disjoint in a relationship that was supposed to be cordial between the insured/contributors and the insurer/fund administrators but was frequently strained said that Peninscope had a lot of activities to contribute to making the system work.