With reforms in both insurance and pension sectors, especially as it affects retirement benefit management, retirees have become the toast of both insurance and pension managers, Ebere Nwoji writes.
With recent inauguration of the Insurance Policyholders’ Protection Fund Committee (IPPF) by the National Insurance Commission (NAIOM) ) and commencement of pilot phase of its free healthcare initiative tagged, “PenCare,” for low income earners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by the National Pension commission (PenCom), the stage is set for stiff competition between insurance underwriters of annuity life and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) who operate programme withdrawal, as to who should take custody and payment of their retirement benefits.
Under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, retirees receive benefits from their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) primarily through a combination of a lump-sum payment and a regular pension for life. The Act said touching regular pension life payment, retirees are at liberty to receive their retirement benefits through programme withdrawal system administered by the PFAs or through life annuity payment administered by life insurance underwriters.
