Oguche, PenOp CEO

By Ngozi Onyeakusi—Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has said that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has successfully fostered saving culture among Nigerians.

The PenOp PenOp CEO, Mr Agudah Oguche who gave submission noted before the establishment of the CPS, Nigeria did not have large pool of domestic fund.
Recall that the pension funds asset under CPS has risen to N13.6 trillion as at January this year.

“It is also pertinent to note that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in its current state has in no small way fostered a savings culture in Nigeria. Prior to the enactment of the act, Nigeria did not have large pools of domestic savings.

Many Nigerians do not have any other form of savings, except through this contributory pension scheme. What we should be doing as a Nation is to encourage more of these savings rather than looking to dismantle the system.

This is probably the only form of savings most Nigerian workers are able to put aside for their retirement years”, he said.
According to him, Nigeria needed to do more.
“As a matter of fact, what we need to promote, and the pension industry is leading on that, is to encourage more workers to add to their statutory deductions while working, as this would enable them shore up their balances over time.
What we need to advocate more is the consistency and discipline in the contributions that will even remove the need for any large lump sum payout when retired. A simple example will help illustrate this.
If a worker were to save N 20,000 (Twenty thousand Naira) consistently every month for 15 years with an interest rate of 10 % per annum compounded for the 15 years, at the end of the period, he would have amassed over N 16,000,000 (Sixteen Million Naira). This is the power of consistency and compounding which the current system provides, and which should be encouraged”, suggested Oguche.