The Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Mrs Folashade Onanuga has charged Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and life insurers synergize efforts towards the growth of pension industry.
This is even as she expressed disappointment over unhealthy competition between them, saying the only way to sustain the industry is through harmonious relationships.
She admonished them as she warned that bickering and untidy struggle for market dominance would not support efforts to build a virile pension industry.
Onanuga, who gave the advice at the 2nd National Conference on Insurance and Pension, organised by the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), said the competition between the two operators must be healthy in order to build confidence in Pension Reform Act (PRA).
She said: “The competition between the two operators must be healthy, otherwise, the ultimate consumer will lose confidence in the transparency the PRA advocated, as human thinking will suggest that the infighting to gain upper market share, between the two operators means that the product being sold is more to the benefit of the operators than the ultimate consumer. The ultimate consumer will therefore be wary of both products.”
While marketing annuity or programmed withdrawal products, Onanuga said PFAs needed to understand that they don’t have a monopoly over the business, but should rather work with annuity service providers to boost the pension industry.
She advised that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the PFAs should be able to display the list of annuity service providers on their website while annuity service providers should also be able to display similar list on their website.
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