Business News
Pension contributors hit 8.5m, but statistics still show worrying signs
The summary of Pension Fund Assets shows that Pension contributors hit 8.56m in February 2019. When compared to the 8.4m plus contributors that had been maintained since December, there’s an increase.
The summary of Pension Fund Assets shows that Pension contributors hit 8.56m in February 2019. When compared to the 8.4m plus contributors that had been maintained since December, it can be seen that the number of pension account holders has increased by 1 percent in just one month.
Also, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) report covering February 2019 shows that investments in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities hit N6.51trn, up from N6.37trn recorded in the previous month.
According to the latest PenCom report, FGN Securities constitute 73.12 percent of the total Pension Assets Class. A further breakdown shows that FGN Bonds top the asset class under the FGN securities, with N4.49trn; implying 50.43% of the total FGN security.
The analysis implies that a higher proportion of Pension contributions under the FGN securities are invested in Bonds. Similarly, Treasury Bills (T-bills) is the second most invested with N1.90trn, representing 21.4 percent. Other items under the FGN securities include Agency Bonds, Sukuk, and Green Bonds.
RSA up by 2%: PenCom data also shows that funds in the Retirement Savings Account increased by 2% between January and February 2019. In January, total RSA funds stood at N6.66trn, while it increased to N6.78trn in the period under review. Meanwhile, Nairametrics earlier reported that the sum of N7.42 billion was remitted into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In the report, it was revealed that RSA funds were remitted into 966,155 employees’ accounts, across 2,044 organizations.
Contributors upsurge: As mentioned earlier, the total number of account holders in Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme hits 8.56m in February 2019. It should be noted that the total number of account holders on the contributory pension scheme has been hovering around 8.4m since the fourth quarter of 2018.
PenCom in its Q4 report released last month explained that the growth in the industry membership was driven by the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Scheme, which had an increase of 138,236 contributors representing 1.64 percent during the period.
Worrying Statistics: Further analysis and breakdown of contributors under age 30 improved by 2 percent from 799,169 in January 2019, to 816,656 in February. However, this figure is still low when compared to the other age groups in the report.
In total, contributors under age 30 constituted only 10 percent of the total contributory pension scheme. Specifically, contributors aged 30 and 39 years record the highest with 36 percent of total pension scheme contributors while contributors aged 40 and 49 ranks second.
The statistics further corroborated Nairametrics’ earlier analysis of the low rate of contributors under age 30. According to Nairametrics, the way pensions are designed, the younger your contributors the better the pension funds. This is because younger people contribute for longer periods, ensuring that pension fund assets are robust enough for investments.
“With younger people now comprising much less, the pressure is now on those aged 40 years and above to sustain Nigeria’s pension fund industry.”
The Upshots: The 8.5million mark contributors is indeed a welcome development. However, this only represents 12% of the population of employed people in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) unemployment data for the third quarter of 2018, the total number of Nigerians employed in both full and part-time stood at 69.6million. This implies that a whopping 61 million employed Nigerians are not captured under the contributory pension scheme. In other words, 89 percent of employed Nigerians are not within the Nigerian pension scheme.
Similarly, the low rate of under 30 contributors is not also good for the country. If the trend of under 30 contributors is not reversed, it means in future, Pension scheme in Nigeria is laced with a high level of growth uncertainties.
Business News
Job listings spike up by 183% in April –Jobberman
Jobberman released figures showing a 183% increase in job listings on its platform in April 2020, thanks to its #UnityInAdversity campaign.
Notable job placement website, Jobberman, has released figures showing that there was a 183% increase in job listings on its platform in the month of April 2020.
This increase, according to Jobberman, is a result of the #UnityInAdversity campaign which allowed companies to post job listings and access Jobberman’s database of over 2.2 million professionals across Nigeria for free, rather than paying the usual fees. This was the company’s way of showing support to businesses and individuals, amid the economic challenges which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the release from Jobberman, this campaign came at a cost to the company since it was trading off its revenue by offering for free, the same services which formed its major source of income.
“At the beginning of March, Jobberman Nigeria saw a 70 percent decrease in job listings due to the reduced economic activity caused by the enforced lockdown and many companies shutting down recruitment budgets to cut costs. Jobseeker sign-ups also decreased by 17 percent. Jobberman took the bold step to put employers’ and job seekers’ needs first” the statement read.
(READ MORE: Merger, Tax incentive boosts BUA Cement FY 2019 result)
The campaign, which is billed to run till June 30, has paid off greatly as data for April’s job listings alone was more than that of the entire Q1 2020 period. See a breakdown of the job listings below:
- Almost a fifth of the positions (18.79%) were listed in the tech sector
- Banking, finance, and insurance accounted for 9.27%
- Education and training had 6.78 percent
- IT & Software positions accounted for 11.69%
- Sales had 13.32%.
Note that with the increase in job listings, job seeker sign-ups also increased by 39% in April alone.
Speaking about the campaign, the CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, Hilda Kragha said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made the process of connecting talent to opportunities more complicated and we are fully aware of the strain businesses and individuals in Nigeria are facing. We plan to be here for the next 10 years so making this small sacrifice to help our users navigate these difficult times is something that we think is definitely worth doing”.
Kragha also noted that the campaign has encouraged healthy competition as candidates strive to show themselves qualified for the position.
“We have found that soft skills such as emotional intelligence, business etiquette, time management, which are often overlooked and underestimated in Nigeria, can make a big difference. We know the power of soft skills and we are committed to empowering individuals with the training and soft skills they need to succeed in the workplace” she explained further.
(READ MORE: Partnerships Beyond The Partners… Another Lesson From Interswitch)
Sequel to this, the company also launched a free soft skills training programme to help job seekers (between age 18 and 30 years) acquire the needed soft skills and better their chances of gaining employment.
Economy & Politics
Gold prices rise, as President Trump decides on China today
Gold prices jumped on Friday as China and America’s drift deepened over further moves by China to impose security laws on Hong Kong
Gold prices jumped on Friday as China and America’s drift deepened over further moves by China to impose security laws on Hong Kong, lifting the allure of safe havens amid market uncertainties.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser cautioned the Chinese lately that Hong Kong, which has enjoyed special privileges, may now be treated like China when it comes to financial matters and trade.
Trump, who had earlier vowed a tough action on China, will hold a news conference today to announce what measures his administration will take.
Spot gold gained about 0.1% at $1,719.63 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,734.60.
The friendship between the Americans and Chinese had weakened, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Trump and President Jinping of China have accused each other as a result of issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
(READ MORE: Gold records 3-week high, as investors rush to safe haven)
Why do Investors buy Gold? Global Investors most often buy the safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty and use it to hedge against cash (inflationary macros).
“The possible U.S. response could range from a tearing up of the Phase 1 trade deal and fresh tariffs on China, to milder travel or financial sanctions on Chinese officials,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at Australian wealth manager AMP to Reuters News.
“It is seen as a major threat to the rally we’ve had and the recovery,” “If it’s at the relatively mild end, then I don’t think it would derail the recovery bull market, but if it’s at the more extreme end with tariffs and harsh treatment of Hong Kong, then I think it gets more problematic,” Oliver added.
Business News
AfDB board denies asking Adesina to step down, as Obasanjo says the bank risks being hijacked
“The Bureau of the board of governors informs the public that it has not taken any decision. Everyone must allow the Bureau to do its work and allow due process to reign.”
The Bureau of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has denied media reports making the rounds that AfDB’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, has been asked to step down pending the completion of the probe and determination of allegations against him.
The bank’s top governing board members said that they have not asked Adesina to step down from his position as president, even as the board continues to review the fallout of complaints by some whistleblower. The statement from the Chairman of the bank’s board of governors, Niale Kaba, said:
“The Bureau of the board of governors informs the public that it has not taken any decision. Everyone must allow the Bureau to do its work and allow due process to reign. All governors will be carried along in resolving the issue.’’
READ ALSO: IMF advises banks to suspend dividend payment
Kaba also stressed that there was no governance crisis at AfDB as was being speculated in certain quarters. He confirmed that the Bureau of the Board of Governors of AfDB met on Tuesday, May 26, after the request by the U.S Secretary calling for an independent probe. The essence of the meeting was to take a closer look at the allegations by the whistleblowers against Akinwumi Adesina, said allegations which had already been investigated by the ethics committee of the bank.
Kaba further disclosed that even though no decision has been taken yet, the bureau assures that it is treating the case with the utmost seriousness that it deserves.
(READ MORE: AfDB bows to pressure from U.S, orders an independent probe of Akinwumi Adesina)
Adesina, who maintains his innocence of those allegations, had stated that a fair, transparent, and just process will vindicate him.
In a related development, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo had thrown his weight behind Adesina and kicked against the demand by the United States of America for a fresh, independent probe of the AfDB President who had earlier been cleared by the ethics committee of the bank.
In his letter to 12 former African Presidents, Obasanjo said that Africa must stand up and not allow its institutions to be unduly controlled by non-African countries.
Obasanjo said that the bank has witnessed tremendous growth under Adesina’s leadership and has doubled its capital base since he took over.
Brian
May 15, 2019 at 3:50 pm
I am under 30 and if pensioning wasn’t statutory I wouldn’t even bother about them.
This is because, in my opinion, there’s a lack of transparency and accountability in that sector, ESPECIALLY IN NIGERIA.
Case in point, most, if not all, pensions were wiped out after the 2008 crises. It isn’t encouraging.