A SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY RETIREMENT-Odunze Reginald C

In his book, “The Prince” a book on political philosophy, Machiavelli stated that the destination is far more important than the journey, he was so engrossed with it that he came up with a political maxim that still stands till today, “the end justifies the means”

And in the film Transcendence, a film on Artificial Intelligence, Dr Caster and his team noted that the journey is far more important than the destination.

But the views of financial and retirement planners are different; they believed that the journey is as important as the destination.  So is all aspect of life, the journey of any event, program, study is by far better than its destination. If the journey is well planned, the destination will be great, and if the journey is haphazard then its destination can be a dismal failure. Pension is not an exception.

In his books, The magic of getting what you want, and The magic of thinking big Schwartz noted that human beings and individuals expecting to make change in their immediate environment should be willing to prepare their 5 minutes obituary and by preparing their 5 minutes obituary, they will be able ascertain if they have achieve their expectations in life. So also should workers be able to prepare for their own retirement even when they are still working, by carrying their pension calculations, they will be able to extrapolate in advance, their likely expected pension pot and their pension’s benefits.

From these two illustrations, it can be observed that in every aspect of life careful planning, checks, measures are necessary for a better deal. Even in life, James Schwartz noted in preparing ones obituary, you will be able to ascertain what you have achieved at a particular age. In pension one should make it a duty to at one time or the other to ascertain what his or her pension pot is, bench mark it with your benefits, salaries , allowance accruable to you now, by so doing you will know whether you are making a headway or not in achieving the required pension pot. There is also need for a pension calculator.

There are steps to achieving that and according to Wall Street cheat sheet “TCRS offers the following three strategic steps for achieving retirement readiness and success:

1. Save for retirement. Start saving as early as possible — and as much as possible to maximize potential compounding of investments. Save consistently over time. Avoid taking loans and early withdrawals from retirement accounts as they can severely inhibit the growth of long-term retirement savings.
2. Calculate retirement savings needs, develop a retirement strategy, and write it down. In creating a plan, consider lifestyle, living expenses, healthcare needs, government benefits, and other factors, as well as a backup plan in case retirement comes early due to an unforeseen circumstance.
3. Get educated about retirement investing. Whether relying on the expertise of professional advisers or taking a more do-it-yourself approach, gain the knowledge to ask questions and make informed decisions. Seek assistance from a professional financial adviser, if needed.” (Wall street cheat sheet)

But in having a worthwhile retirement is a basically a function of the strategies put in place in achieving that.  Strategies according to Anao are schemes, maneuvers, and methods, plans which organizations or individuals hope to deploy in order to function effectively, Retirement is essential one of the basic facts of life, and people save for two basic reasons, to make lots of money and to provide for the retirement. And according to a recent research, people are more likely save to cater for their retirement than to be rich.

The problem of financial crises and the increasing in the working age in United Kingdom and the United states has made people to start planning heavily on the retirement, coupled with a recent development where scammers target retires because of their vulnerability indicate a positive trend in having a good retirement strategies as most whites return back to work having discovered that their pension pot could not carry them through during their retirement. These are the basic strategies for retirement:

1 Save for retirement: saving for retirement is a basic requirement in life especially in Africa where there is no social security. Saving for retirement in Africa is fast becoming important as the modernization has gradually eroded African system of social communism where in most communities; people gather together build houses for old people who do not have children to cater for them. As this has eroded, it becomes increasingly important to start saving for old age

It is also important to embark on voluntary contribution as the mandatory provision of 15 percent is not quite enough and I strongly commend the Federal government of Nigeria for increasing it to 18 percent.

2 Make s rough estimate of retirement savings needs, the saving need is a strategic issue as most retirees came to the sudden realization that what they are getting as their lump sum is not enough, coupled with their desire to get a house and a car from their lump sum which is barely enough to cater for their immediate needs.

3 Develop a retirement strategy, it is very important to fashion a well defined retirement strategy. Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS), noted that in developing a retirement strategy, it is important to do the following “create a plan , In creating a plan, consider lifestyle, living expenses, healthcare needs, government benefits, and other factors, as well as a backup plan in case retirement comes early due to an unforeseen circumstance

4 Know a lot about retirement investment, it is the inability for contributors knowing about investment that often drove them to annuity. Contributors should at one time or the other gets investment advice from their pension fund administrators. They can do this by attending forum organized by the various Pension Fund Administrators to get adequate information on investment strategies

5 Maintain a positive attitude towards life and pension inclusive; according to book of job what people fear most always comes to them. And according to Robert Schuler, in his book , “the power of positive thinking “ he noted that  one of the basic ingredient of success is maintaining a positive outlook to life, believe that you will make and you will make it, believe that you will not , and you will definitely not”

Therefore maintaining a positive attitude in all aspect of life is pre requisite for all facets of life and Le Boeuf (1987:21) noted that “your world is a mirror and your mind is a magnet what you perceived in this world is largely a reflection of your own attitudes and beliefs. And life will give you what you attract with your thoughts. Think, act and talk negatively and your world will likely be negative. Think, act and talk with enthusiasm and you will attract positive results.

Pension is a great destination, and it requires careful journey , which comprises planning, adequate contributions, monitoring pension pot and as you endeavor to that, you will discover like Dr Caster and his team that the journey is very important as its destination.

Odunze Reginald C

Lead Consultant, Chareg Consulting

Scandals the invincible hands that kill Political Careers -Odunze Reginald C

Pictures credited to Wikipedia.

In his daily book ministration, titled “Daily manna” Dr Chris Kwakpovwe noted that in life, one should endeavor to avoid the “3 great F that can finish a man or woman prematurely 1. Females (women) 2. Fame (inordinate ambition or desire for greatness and pursuits of titles instead of God and 3. Fortune (love of money and inordinate desire to be rich”

This is in partial agreement with James Schwartz in his book “The magic of getting what you want” Schwartz noted that there are three most important things in life, Women, Money and Religion, he went on saying that with women, you create life, with money, you maintain the life you created and with religion you still have hope that you are going to have life after death.  He went on to say that these three derivatives have been responsible for the rise and fall of men from ages past.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has signal the commencement of electoral campaign across the nation. By this directive, political parties and political office seekers are now free to campaign for the 2015 election in to respective political offices in the federation.

But one thing that always happens during political campaign is the issue of scandals, we cannot forget in hurry, the Watergate scandal, the willow gate scandal and other numerous scandals that engulf political office seekers throughout the globe.

A classic example is the case of Senator Gary Hart, In the 1987, a bright young man, a senator, an American diplomat, politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator was positioned to be the next American President. According to Tom Fiedler “Gary Hart, 50, announced his quest for the presidency April 13 at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with a promise as lofty as the backdrop: “All of us must try to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of integrity and ethics, and soundness of judgment... ”

According to Wikipedia “ In late April, 1987, an anonymous informant contacted The Miami Herald and told the paper that Hart was having an affair, provided details about the affair, and told the Herald that Hart was going to meet his lover at his Washington DC townhouse the next Friday, May 1. As a result, a team of Herald reporters staked out the townhouse that evening and the next Saturday, and observed a young woman and Gary Hart together. The Herald reporters confronted Hart on Saturday evening in an alley; he denied that he was having an affair. That woman was later identified as Dona Rice. That ended Gary Hart’s presidential ambition paving way for George W Bush who later became the president and political jargon came in “The sin of the Gary Hart”

Back here in Nigeria, we all know how the glorious career of CP Fidelis Oyakhilomi ended because of his affair with Jennifer Madike and the in glorious release of a drug baron when he was the chairman of Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. And in the political circle, the Salisu Buhari Gate and Ete Gate are still fresh in our minds.

The late Elder statesman, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo noted that he owed his success in life through three things, the grace of God, a Spartan self discipline and a good wife, continuing in his Path to Wisdom, he stated that for you to survive in life and be a successful man, you must eschew over eating, alcoholic and drug indulgence and stay clearly away from the sin of womanizing.

In an article captioned “How Gary Hart’s Downfall Forever Changed American Politics” which appeared in the New York Times of September 18, 2014, Matt Bai noted that “Hardly a modern scandal passed, whether it involved a politician or an athlete or an entertainer, that didn’t evoke inevitable comparisons to Hart among reflective commentators. In popular culture, Gary Hart would forever be that archetypal antihero of presidential politics: the iconic adulterer.”

In an article by Vanity Fair titled Find out What Became of These 16 Sex-Scandal Survivors! Jennifer Wright stated that   “Today Donna Rice Hughes serves as president and C.E.O. of Enough Is Enough, anti-porn nonprofit that works to make the Internet more wholesome.” But to me she ended the political career of the finest president America will ever have.

Remember the scandal of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky   and reacting to Clinton scandal Dona Rice opined that “My heart really goes out to Monica Lewinsky or anyone who gets caught in an international scandal,” Hughes said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast.

As political office seekers grapple with the electioneering campaign, they should bear in mind that they are now public figures and as such their movements are closely monitored by their political opponents. They are under public scrutiny and as such this is the time to make integrity, their watch word not like Gary Hart who stated that   “All of us must try to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of integrity and ethics, and soundness of judgment... ” But he failed in all of them, his failure signaled a jargon  known as “monkey business” coined from the name of the yatch he was seen with Dona Rice.

From this little presentation, it can be seen that what Chris Kwakpovwe and James Schwartz noted above has been the greatest  killer of political aspirations right from the Biblical time, as Judge like Sampson also failed due to the power behind the thighs of women.

Many commentators have noted, there are only two things that can kill a man, women and money. So as you make that political move, bear in mind that you are a product of your party, they have invested heavily on you, the success of your party purely depends on you, their product, you are like a brand. When you fail, due to scandal, it may create a serious political loss and the signal of a political doom.

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Odunze Reginald is the Lead Consultant, Chareg Consulting

How safe is my Fund-Odunze Reginald C

In all the presentations , I have done in pension related matters , numbering about 3000, spanning over a period of six years in the following sates  Zamfara,  Nasarawa, Abuja , Enugu, Imo , Kwara,  Osun, Lagos etc  in both private and public sectors, the most re occurring question is how safe is my contribution.

The safety of any fund is the basic criteria in setting up the fund, when a fund has no safety; it is of no use in setting it up.

In an article by Odunze which appeared in 2011, titled “The Task of managing and safeguarding the pension fund” Odunze opined that  “With the call in Europe and America for an extension of the retirement age due to the failure of the pension schemes as a result of the last global financial crises, it becomes pertinent for the pension fund administrators, the pension fund custodian and the National pension commission . PenCom to embark on stringent financial and investment strategies to put the schemes on sound footings. This becomes necessary to safeguard the pension fund”

The failures of the National Provident Fund Act of 1973, The Pension Act of 1990 and the NSITF Act of 1993 are all fresh in our memories. The business environment is becoming more and more complicated, so also is the human nature and behavior. They all fail because of several reasons, which included corruption, not maintaining a good data base, not proper oversight function, non challant attitude of the officials involved.

The Pension Reform Act 2004 clearly pointed the provisions of Pension fund custodian, pension fund Administrator and the National pension commission have careful delineated duties that has serves as check and balances to the establishment, administration and running of the schemes to make it safe and profitable to both the contributors, retirees, and return on assets to the administrators and other stakeholders in the scheme.

The recent amendment of the 2004 Pension Reform Act, which resulted in its repeal and the subsequent provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014 will positively consolidate more on the pension assets as the relevant portions of the law has increased the coverage to states, local governments, and employers with minimum of three employees.

 There is also the consolidation of the pension reform act as aptly captioned by the highlights of the pension reform act 2014, it should be noted that   “The Pension Reform Act 2014 has consolidated earlier amendments to the 2004 Act, which were passed by the National Assembly. These include the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011 which exempts the personnel of the Military and the Security Agencies from the CPS as well as the Universities (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2012, which reviewed the retirement age and benefits of University Professors. Furthermore, the 2014 Act has incorporated the Third Alteration Act, which amended the 1999 Constitution by vesting jurisdiction on pension matters in the National Industrial Court. 

Punishment for defaulting employers : the pension reform act  in Section 11 (6) of the Act provides that an employer who fails to deduct or remit the contributions of its employees within 7 working days from the date salary is paid, in addition to making the remittance already due, will be liable to a penalty to be stipulated by the Commission.

Furthermore, Section 105 (1& 2) on offences under the Act empowers the National Pension Commission (PenCom), subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct and/or remit pension contributions of their employees.

With all these provisions, the scheme has the necessary provision to ensure compliance and safety of the fund as pension fund custodians are expected to have an indemnity of three times the value of their fund, in the case of custodian going bankrupt.

Like Jonny Walker we are not deterred by where we failed, but we set our minds on our destination and that is why we are bent on the safety of the fund.