PENSIONDigest

Vol. 3 | Edition 1

Oct. - Dec. 2017

A Quarterly Publication of APT Pensions

Message from APT to Clients

Ü Mobile Solutions and Today’s Businesses

Branded Account Officers

Capital & Money Markets Updates

Ü Nigeria Moves 24 Places Up on the World

Bank Ease of Doing Business Rankings

Ü Money Market Indicators

Pension Industry News

Ü New Guidelines on Voluntary Pension

Contributions from PenCom

Ü PenCom Announces Pension

Enhancement For Existing Pensioners

Your APT Pension Funds

Financial Literacy Corner

Ü Budgeting Best Practices

Ü Teaching Your Children to Be Financially

Literate

FAQ of the Quarter

Ü What effect will the new multi-fund

structure have on my pension balance?

Mobile Solutions and Today’s

Businesses

Mobile and Internet penetration in Africa especially in

Nigeria has changed the dynamics of Business and

Service Delivery. With 81% Mobile penetration (150 million

mobile subscriptions) and 53% Internet Penetration

according to report on Nigerian Mobile Trend 2017 by

Jumia, it is very difficult for businesses to deliver efficient

customer service and to expand market share without

tapping into the huge Mobility Market.

The steady increase in Smartphone adoption coupled

with innovative data package by service providers is

providing synergized digital ecosystem with endless

possibilities to stakeholders. Now customers not only

browse or look up products on the internet but pay for

orders and access vital services on mobile apps or mobile-

friendly version of websites. No industry will be immune to

this trend since businesses are driven by consumer

behaviours which will continue to demand for enhanced

customer experience.

The Pension Industry in Nigeria has come a long way since

the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme. The

industry consolidates its position through robust

regulatory framework and legislations. With growth in

adoption from public, private, FCT, state, and local

Governmants who have embraced the scheme, the

industry will continue to grow and develop for years to

come. This development wi l l demand greater

transparency and enhanced service delivery. For instance

contributors would like to monitor their Retirement

Savings Accounts (RSAs), Check balance, find out about

their Return on Investments, generate their statement of

account and even engage Customer Service officers from

the comfort of their homes. All these would have been

impossible without Mobile and Internet Penetration.

Apt Pension Fund Managers is conscious of the potentials

of Internet and Mobility in Customer Service delivery and

has launched an android app capable of carrying out all

the above functions using minimal internet bandwidth.

Furthermore the design and development of the app paid

attention to ease of use. Contributors (Users) can

download the app from Google PlayStore or from our

website, request for login credentials through the app and

they are on without paying a visit to our office.

Your PFA will continue to pursue innovations that will deliver

value to stakeholders, and with our high Return On

Investment which has been consistent for the past two years,

Apt Pension is fast becoming a model for effective Pension

Fund Administration.

Vol. 3 | Edition 1 | Oct. - Dec. 2017

Vol. 3 | Edition 1 | Oct. - Dec. 2017

How to use the

APT Pension

Mobile App

1. Download and install the app

Download the app from Google PlayStore and install

2. Request for Login Password

(Enter your registered mobile)

RSA PIN and Password will be sent as text message to

your registered line. Copy the credential accordingly

3. Login to the App

Use the RSA Number and the default password received

to login to the app. It is encouraged to change the default

password and keep it secret. This is carried out through

the UTILITIES function on the app after successful login.

4. After successful Login

Customer has access to many functions provided by the

Mobile App. These include ability to:

Ü Check balance which displays Balance, Total

Contribution and Return On Investment (ROI)

Ü View Personal Information as provided on the RSA

Registration Form

Ü View Last 20 Transaction including contributions and

payout where applicable.

Ü Send Complaint or Observation to us to be attended

to by Customer Care Department

Ü Generate Statement of Account for a desired period.

This will be sent in real-time to the registered mail.

Ü Generate Welcome Letter (Registration Certificate).

This will be sent in real-time to the registered mail

Ü Chat with online Customer Care or leave a message

Ü Update Email address. This is where no mail is

registered or wrong Email address is observed by the

customer through the Personal Information function.

Function available under UTILITIES.

Ü Capture Image and send to Customer Care. This is

handy where a certain document is required urgently

from the customer.

Vol. 3 | Edition 1 | Oct. - Dec. 2017

Nigeria Moves 24 Places Up on the World Bank Ease of

Doing Business Rankings

From the 171st position in 2016, Nigeria is now ranked

145th in the Ease of Doing Business report which

provides objective measures of business regulations

and their enforcement across 190 economies

worldwide.

Vice-President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has said that by

this Nigeria has broken the jinx of a decade of decline in

global rankings on the ease of doing business.

This upward move is as a result of the Presidential

Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) set up

by President Muhammadu Buhari and headed by Vice-

President Yemi Osinbajo.

Money Market Indicators

The All Share Index as at Tuesday, October 03, 2017 was

35,306.09 and moved to 38,246.19 by Friday, 29

December, 2017.

The Monetary Policy Rate was retained at 14% by the

Central Bank of Nigeria at the last meeting of the

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) date: 20th & 21st of

November, 2017. From its report, the MPC believes that

“key variables have continued to evolve in line with the

current stance of macroeconomic policy and should be

allowed to fully manifest.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ CPI and

Inflation Report November 2017, Nigeria’s inflation rate

was at 15.90% as the rate has continued to drop steadily

from 15.98% in November.

New Guidelines on Voluntary Pension Contributions

from PenCom

On November 16, 2017, The National Pension Commission

(PenCom) released guidelines to govern withdrawals from

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC). The new

guidelines are designed to serve as a check on the

frequency of withdrawals of AVC and the effect on the tax

payable to the tax authorities. With effect from 1st

December 2017, the following rules will apply to AVC

withdrawals.

Ü Withdrawal from an AVC will be once every two (2)

years.

Ü Withdrawals will be on incremental contributions from

the date of last withdrawal.

Ü Only fifty (50%) of AVC contributions made by

mandatory RSA contributors will be available for

withdrawal once in two years. Taxes will be paid only on

income earned for this category of AVC withdrawal. The

balance of Fifty Percent (50%) will be for enhancing

benefits at retirement.

Ü Foreign and exempted contributors will be allowed to

make full withdrawals (100%). This withdrawal will be

subject to deduction of taxes on amounts remitted and

income earned when the withdrawal is less than 5 years

after contribution.

Furthermore, PFAs have been mandated to report any

single contribution of Five million naira (N5,000,000.00)

into an individual’s account to the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission (EFCC).

PenCom Announces Pension Enhancement For Existing

Pensioners

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved an

enhancement to the pension of existing pensioners on

programmed withdrawal under the Contributory Pension

Scheme (CPS) managed by PFAs. According to (PenCom)

the first pension enhancement for this category of

pensioners will take effect from December 2017, with

subsequent reviews to be advised by the Commission.

The Apt RSA Fund price was N2.6615 while the Retiree

Fund was N2.8614 as at 31 December 2017. The allocation

of your funds to the broad asset classes are as follows in

line with the Regulation for the Investment of Pension

Funds issued by PenCom:

Vol. 3 | Edition 1 | Oct. - Dec. 2017

Budgeting Best Practices

Ü Plan how you will spend your money each month. Your

plan should reflect your expected income and planned

expenses for the month.

Ü As the month unfolds, write down your actual expenses.

Ü Compare your actual expenses and your planned

expenses at the end of the month to see if they tally.

Ü Your analysis should help you to make a better budget

next month.

Teaching Your Children to Be Financially Literate

Ü Teach them the value and benefits of work: Yes, work is a

way to earn an income, but it is also important that

children learn the value in doing work that is personally

rewarding and valuable to the society.

Ü Involve them in financial decisions: Whether it’s a toy for

the holidays or a family car/house, involving children in

the process of making these purchases helps them to

learn financial concepts like budgeting, planned

spending, and opportunity cost.

Ü Show them the importance of savings: Teach them early

to put away some of the money that comes to them for

the future. Savings is a timeless money habit that never

loses value.

Ü Exemplify the discipline of budgeting: Budgeting, in

simple terms, is planning your finances to cater to your

needs, wants, savings, benevolence, and investments. It

helps you to make the most of your income per time. It

takes a lot of discipline to live on a budget, but it is one

discipline that pays huge dividends. Who better for your

children to learn this vital discipline from than you?

FINANCIAL LITERACY

What effect will the new multi-fund structure have on my pension balance?

Your RSA balance will not change due to the new multi-fund structure. Your entire balance will be moved

to the appropriate fund free of charge. However, after the move, your RSA balance will grow based on the

mandatory monthly contributions, voluntary contributions, and returns generated by your PFA on the

particular fund for your account.

Enquiries in relation to this publication or any other

matters relating to our services at Apt Pensions

may be directed to the Head of Customer Service at:

Or Call: