Abuja Pension Summit: DG PenCom Excited by Prospects for Nigeria

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said the World Pension Summit Africa Special taking place in Abuja next week will deepen the discussion to ensure that pension funds are invested in the real sector for visible and measurable impact on the economy, while booting retirement benefits.

The DG said she is excited by the opportunities that the world summit would presents solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing pension investment challenges.

Global experts on pension innovation, leaders of thought and key practitioners are expected in Abuja between September 27 and 28 to brainstorm on key elements of developing and structuring a sustainable pension system for Nigeria and other African nations.

With the theme: ‘Pension Innovations: The African Perspective’, the summit, as designed by the PenCom in partnership with the Pension and Investments/World Pension Summit, Amsterdam, will focus on innovations in the pension industry in Nigeria and Africa in general.

The World Pension Summit Africa Special is the platform to exchange knowhow, support professionals in social security and in all aspects of pensions to gain the expertise. It is also about taking the pragmatic essential steps to professionalise pensions and make them ‘future proof’.

Anohu-Amazu said the summit which is well-packaged to attract professionals around the world is aimed at exchanging expertise between all pension professionals in Africa to stimulate pension market developments and innovation.

In particular, she said this year’s edition of the summit would focus on key areas and experiences on relevant topics and developments such as ‘pension innovations; the dynamics of pension investment (ALM, new asset classes, infrastructure investments); ESG for pension funds and impact investing; financial inclusion covering financial literacy, micro pensions and social security; the impact of new technology on communication; actuarial valuation and their impact on benefits, policy and governance.

In order to stimulate and encourage African scheme owners and funds to work on professionalising retirement practice in Africa, the summit has also planned to host the second edition of the Africa Pension Awards.
‘’The awards ceremony is an integral part of the summit. It is the ultimate reward for excellence, and a huge stimulus to ensure that Africa’s pensions industry remains innovative’’, the organisers said.

The inaugural awards in 2015 saw RBA Kenya, NAMFISA Namibia and PenCom Nigeria being honoured for their various roles in the development of the sector on the continent. And the 2016 awards is also aimed at recognising innovations in risk management and communication strategy for improved customer service delivery, socio-economic impact of contributory pension systems, extension of contributory pension coverage and best corporate governance practices.

The summit, according the organisers, will attract many key speakers including Chris Battaglia, the CEO WorldPensionSummit and Vice President/Group publisher of Pensions and Investments (P&I). Battaglia is of Pensions and Investments (P&I)-the pre-eminent international newspaper of money management, and business insurance.

Mr. Harry Smorenberg, Founder, World Pension Summit will also present a paper at the summit. He previously worked at Banque Paribas and ABN AMRO and was a director at two leading strategic consultants. He is a financial services marketing and positioning strategist.

Another speaker is Mr. Eric Eggink, the CEO of Eggink Van Manen/ Co-founder World Pension Summit. He started his career as a television Producer at AVRO TV and hosted a weekly radio programme about studied Dutch literature and Communications Management literature.

The DG of Pencom will also share her versed experience in the management of pension with the global audience at the summit. She served on the Pension Reform Committee set up by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose work led to the enactment of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.