The Association of Pension Desk Practitioners of Nigeria (ASSOPEP) has refuted the allegation leveled against it by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) that it was acting on behalf of or representing the Commission in assisting retirees to get their benefits.
In a statement made available via the Association Facebook page, ASSOPEP said there was never a time it claimed to be an affiliate or representative of PenCom or any PFA at any time.
Recall that The NIGERIAN OBSERVER last week reported that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) had dissociated itself from the activities of ASSOPEP saying that the association has no authorization from the Commission in assisting retirees in securing their retirement benefits.
PenCom in a statement had warned the general public especially workers and retirees to be cautious of any promise or claim made by ASSOPEP regarding pension and retirement benefits, adding that any interaction with the association is at the individual’s own risk.
Reacting to the disclaimer by PenCom, ASSOPEP said the Association has at no time claimed to be an affiliate or representative of PENCOM or any PFA or PFC at any time, adding that it has never collected money from anyone with a promise to assist him or her to recover their fund in the Pension system.
The statement further added that the Association mainly engages in the training and retraining of Pension Desk practitioners and other employees to have adequate knowledge of Pension, retirement planning, and entrepreneurship.
ASSOPEP also noted that “In the course of our training, we have listened to challenges contributors face such as unremitted contribution by Employer to PFAs, and inability to access their Pension after retirement due to issues of documentation and advise accordingly.”
“We also at every point in time during our training interactions reiterate that there’s no alternative to the PRA 2004 and 2014 as amended when questions are asked as to why a retiree cannot be paid in full for all his/her contributions.”
“We have also noted that most members of the public, especially the informal sector, lack adequate knowledge of Pension and retirement planning, and we have encouraged them to enroll in the contributory pension scheme through our regular advocacy.”
“Our Association activities and public advocacy have received favourable media publicity such as ASSOPEP Pension Conference held at Abuja 16-19 November 2021 where we call for payment of N400 billion owed contributory pension scheme subscribers and was covered by more than seven media houses.”
“Our past conferences have been attended by States Pension Board Directors, State Head of Service, Directors of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Pension Desk Practitioners, and a host of others without any adverse report on our activities.”
ASSOPEP further stressed that “the Association has never claimed of resolving pension issues and assisting retirees in securing their retirement benefits rather we state that we upskill or train employees in pension matters and thereby with adequate pension knowledge they are less likely to commit mistakes that will delay the payment of their pension. This is based on interaction with such employees and discovering that most causes of the delay in their pension payment are based on ignorance.”
The statement concluded that Pencom or any PFA have not received any letter from ASSOPEP requesting for payment of any pension contributor neither has any contributor paid us to do so.
