While some people think that pensions is a scheme for old people, some believe that it is not worth considering; the reason being that the contributions aren’t readily accessible until retirement. Unarguably, the essence of retirement/Pension savings is very important in securing comfort at retirement. Sadly, many people still have some misconceptions about the Pension Scheme.

Here are 6 (six) myths about pension schemes that some individuals still believe are the truth

Myth 1: Pension contributions for retirement are for old people
The logic behind pension is to ensure the comfort of workers who have dedicated their youthful age to active service in public, private and individual businesses at retirement; when they can no longer work again. One is encouraged to start saving up pensions early in life to guarantee their financial comfort at Old age. Bear in mind that the decisions made today will greatly impact the future and this includes financial planning.

Myth 2: Only white-collar workers can have a pension account
In the beginning, pension savings were known to be associated with majorly public service officers. Over the years, Nigeria’s pension framework has undergone multiple changes to accommodate various sectors; both informal and formal. Now, entrepreneurs can open a pension account, also known as Micro Pension Account to save towards retirement.

Myth 3: One requires a lot of money to contribute to pensions.
With all the personal obligations and demands on the pay packet of an average Nigerian, it is quite understandable that allocating some amount for pension savings feels like taking a step too far.

Nevertheless, note that every penny saved for pensions plays a major role in securing your financial future. The interest earned is compounded and increases the value of your RSA on the long run.
The pain of saving a token of 5,000naira monthly from age 25 can boost your pension pot by nearly ?6,500,000 by the time you attain the statutory retirement age (50years).

Myth 4: Pension contributions are not enough to sustain the desired retirement lifestyle.
We have created and made available the SureCal, a retirement based application that helps determine if your present pension contributions are enough to sustain you at retirement. With a personalized result on Surecal, you can decide to augment your monthly remittance by through Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC).

With AVC, one is at liberty to make additional contributions into his/her RSA from the monthly salary to build up retirement benefit and achieve the dream lifestyle. Business owners with Micro Pension account also have a choice of making contributions daily, weekly, or monthly as they deem fit.

Myth 5: The pension contributions are not safe.
The Pension Fund Administrator manages and invests the pension fund on the contributor’s behalf while the Pension Fund Custodian keeps the pension fund and assets in safe custody until benefit payment request are made which is customarily at retirement. It will also interest you to know that the Administrators and Custodians are duly licensed and continually regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

Myth 6: Retirement is still far away. It is too early to start saving.
Although it is never too late to save for retirement, it’s also never too early. The earlier you begin, the easier it is to build a sustainable nest egg for the future. The example stated in myth 3 should convince you.

The pension scheme was created by the Federal Government to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a stable and adequate source of retirement income for all workers. You can open a Retirement Savings Account with us today. Call 01-2800800 or send us an email on [email protected] . We are always here to serve.

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