The Nigeria Players Union, the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers NANPF, has finally signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with SIGMA PENSIONS on Tuesday 11th August 2020 in Abuja to officially kick start the operations of Nigeria Professional Footballers Pension Scheme (NPFPS) which groundwork actually started in 2016 by both bodies
The MOU signed by the president and the General Secretary on behalf of the union, and the Managing Director/ CEO and Executive director ( technical) on behalf of Sigma Pension, set out the terms of the relationship between both parties with respect to the nature and mode of the operations of the customized Scheme for all registered Professional Footballers in the NPFL, NNL, and NWPFL
Details of the implementation of the customized Scheme, which hopefully shall commence from the 2020/2021 Football season shall be finalized after meeting with the NFF and the various League bodies
It is no longer news, that the everyday footballer is not known to readily save into a Pension Fund. The classic stereotype that comes to the mind of a professional league Football player is enjoying their alluring income, funding a lavish lifestyle and splurging on exotic cars and colorful nights out, rather than diligently saving money away for the rainy days as is prevalent in the regular work scenario in existing pension schemes
Even when a Footballer has invested his millions, we tend to hear how it has been lost due to lack of understanding of the nitty-gritty of investment or even lawsuits that may spring up because as we know, they are successful and are easy prey to unscrupulous individuals hoping to rope them in a “situation” with the hope of settlements. The risk are endless.
Unfortunately, even Football Clubs and administrators are seemingly unenthusiastic about pensions, however, the failure to invest in a pension plan, keep staring us in the face time and time again. This is evident in the multitude of destitute Footballers we keep struggling to rehabilitate and support
All over the world, especially in countries with established professional Football leagues, like England, Holland, Germany, Spain, etc, Footballers have always had pension plans. For instance in England and Holland, any footballer registered with a Club in the FA premier league or Football league is automatically registered into the Professional Footballers Pension Scheme
It is therefore very important for the player to take care of his or her future and the pension scheme is a structured plan player can utilize towards the smoother transition to life after Football
HOW DOES THE PENSION SCHEME WORK
The pension reforms Act 2014 (PRA 2014) is the law that establishes a body called the National Pension Commission (NPC) The Job of the NPC is to enforce and administer the pension Regulations as laid out by the PRA 2014. It regulates two types of Companies- Pension Fund Administrators (PFA’s) and the Pension Fund Custodian ( PFC’s) The PFA manages and invest the pension funds, while the PFC keeps the pension funds and assets in safe custody and carries out transactions on behalf of the PFA
BENEFITS OF JOINING THE PENSION SCHEME
1 Contributors will get returns on pension savings
2 in case of death, benefits will be paid to the family of the deceased
3 There is also Group life Insurance in case someone dies while working
4 At retirement, Retiree will get monthly Pension
5 There is a well-structured customer service to handle customer’s needs
6 In the case of loss of job before retirement, customer can access part of his or her benefits
7 Customers can benefit from free Pre-retirement Financial advisory services
WHY A CUSTOMIZED PENSION SCHEME FOR PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS
Professional Footballers are a most vulnerable set of professionals, for some of the reasons mentioned earlier, including the three clear cut pitfalls Identity below
1 The professional Footballer retires at an average age of 35yrs, that is, he has less than 20yrs of active playing career compared to other Professionals with more than 40 – 45yrs
2 Because Football has the power to remove every potential quality player from the mainstream of education, he is (in other words) deprived of future security which education offers, especially after the active engagement on the pitch
3 The high-risk nature of Professional Football can compel a player with an injury to retire from the game unceremoniously
HOW IT WORKS
The Nigeria Professional Footballers Pension Scheme provides valuable benefits for all registered Contract Players in the Nigeria Professional Football league (NPFL) the Nigeria National League ( NNL) and the Nigeria Women Professional Football league ( NWPFL) and their dependents during their playing career and after they retired from active Football
1 The Footballer notifies the union NANPF and the league body to which he or she is registered to play, of his/her intention to join the Scheme and open a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in accordance to the relevant provisions of the laws and League Regulations or framework
2 Based on the agreed Amount/Percentage to be contributed, in accordance with the relevant law and provisions of league Regulations or framework, the Footballer advises NANPF/ League bodies depending on which league the player is registered to play, of the amount in writing
3 NANPF sends regularly his/her contributions to the PFA through the PFC
4 The PFA credits all Contributions into the Retirement Savings Account of the Footballer, investments and manages the Footballer’s Funds
5 The PFA sends the Footballer regular updates about his/ her Retirement Savings Account (RSA) until Retirement
