1. Understand that retirement is a journey and not a destination. You don’t suddenly arrive at retirement, you plan for it.
2. If you are age 55 and above, psychologically, you are already retired. Start planning your exit from your paid employment.
3. Now that you are retiring or retired, don’t run after money, run after purpose. “It is never too late to be whom you want to be”.
4. If you do not have your retirement home by now, you are sure going to retire for a Landlord because you need a roof over your head at retirement.
5. Search for new knowledge with childhood curiosity and strive to achieve the goals you abandoned for paid employment, if it will give you happiness.
6. Treat people, your colleagues nicely, especially as you are taking retirement exit. People will never forget how you made them feel, especially if you have to come back and knock at the door again.
7. Do you know that from age 60, you attain the zenith of your potentials and this continues till 80 there about. Please, retire to re-fire.
8. It is so sad that children these days do not really see their parents as their responsibility. Is it not sad that some of the children you are working hard for now will go their ways to raise their own immediate families and pursue their own destiny and not even look back to taking care of their aged ones. May this not be your portion, hence I advise you to adequately plan.
9. Stop saying I am this, I am that . Flow into other people's lives and let then flow into yours. Life is programmed to be mutually beneficial as, at some point in our lives, we all depend on each other to make the world a better place. Respect friendship and value relationship and treat your colleagues well because you might need to back to that office for a favour.
10. Make sure that you clear all the debts you owe your MDA before you leave service because it will wait for you in the future. Also, if you are supposed to retire on 15/06/23 and you retire months after, you are automatically owing government. That is, if the system have not logged you out. This will be discovered at the point of you wanting to access your final pension payment and you will pay back very penny. This is apart from the undue delay you will cause yourself in accessing your pension due to this.
PART 2 – FOR THOSE WHO RETIRED AND AWAITING THEIR
BENEFITS
11. What you are now awaiting is your ACCRUED RIGHTS, which is your entitlement under the old scheme. Until that is paid in about a year, you cannot access your benefits. So, please go back and look at the Retirement Slip given to you and double check if all the information there is correct.
12. If any information such as your grade level and step as at 2004 is wrongly captured, you are likely to be a victim of mis-computation in the long run. Although there will be a reconciliation before your benefit is released, but make sure you intimate Pencom and your PFA in writing and do not hesitate to follow it up.
13. Check the same slip and be sure that your other promotional dates are correct. If not, you need to visit Pencom's office to correct it immediately. Also, very important, make sure that your name and date of birth as it is written on your NIN is the same and correct. For instance, if your date of birth is 22nd June 1962, and it is registered as 21st June, 1962, you need to go and correct it immediately and make sure it tallies with what you have with your PFA. If your name is Salisu Okonkwo Alabi and what you have with your PFA is Alabi Okonkwo Salisu, you also need to go and normalize it (Principle of first, middle and last names). I wish you will take my advise.
14. Very important: Go to your PFA and collect your comprehensive statement of account from 2004 till date and check if there are outstandings. I know that some of you will begin to see your remittals from the day your MDA joined the CPS, but there is usually a brought forward somewhere in your RSA statement. If not, it is usually reconciled along the line, but for the avoidance of doubt, you can ask your PFA for clarification, Also, your account is usually reconciled with the nominal role which your MDA submits to Pencom on a yearly basis. That is of your MDA is regular with this, so as to allow Pencom do their own job too.
15. Some of you are victims of double PFA, double RSA registration, under-payment, non-remittance, no nominal roll captured etc. Your RSA statement of account will reveal a lot. (This is very important as your previous colleagues made so many mistake from here).
16. If you are not comfortable with your current PFA and you want to change to another PFA, you can do so by just to the new PFA to fill a form. You do not need to go to your existing PFA to do this. The window is now open and this will promote quality service to RSA Holders because PFAs will not want to loose clients.
17. At your level, there is a minimum your RSA balance should read now. There is also a bar or estimate that you should get, depending on your grade level, step or rank. You should make conscious efforts to know all these in your own interest.
18. You should make conscious efforts to seek information from your PFA on the options available to you. It is usually better you make this enquiry on time, so that you can ruminate upon your options so as to make informed decisions.
19. You all need pension and Retirement education and it is never too late to do this. I will be willing to help you and your ministry facilitate this if you invite me and my team. The benefits you will get from the seminar will be worth all your time. You can reach me on: Babatunde Raimi: 08178827380 & 08035063895 at a date convenient to you.
20. Kindly read numbers 1 to 20 again for clarity.
This piece was originally composed by Babatunde Raimi. This is a modified version that also better suits you.
KINDLY SHARE ON YOUR PLATFORM SO OTHERS CAN BENEFIT.
Beware of some imposters that steal write ups and make it look like they wrote it, such people cannot be trusted. Kindly report anyone who removes any details from here and make it look as if they wrote it.
Babatunde Raimi (Author of: Planning Your Retirement & Beyond Salary)
Pension/Retirement Coach
+2348178827380 & +2348035063895.
www.babatunderaimi.com
© Babatunde Raimi
