Premium Pension Limited has continued to blaze the trail in the industry by again emerging the first Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in the country to attain the Information Security Management System certification, (ISO-27001:2013.). British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Simon Shercliff formally presented the certificate at the company’s corporate head office in Abuja in November.
Speaking at the event, Director General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, represented by its Commissioner Inspectorate, Professor Mohammed Kaoje Abubakar said that the award is well deserved following positive contributions of the company to the Contributory Pension Scheme in the past 11 years.
She said that the award has placed the company on a higher and better ground in the industry and urging the company to sustain the momentum and ensure that it continue to play its expected role in the pension industry.
Shercliff expressed appreciation that the management of the company was aware of the utmost importance of information security, which he said “is incredibly important in sensitive workplaces. He noted that the award was not a gift but only an important milestone. “it marks the standard already attained but means that the standard must be maintained.
Managing Director/CEO of Premium Pension, Mr. Wilson Ideva said his company pursued the certification as part of determination to ensure that its information security management system meets with the expectation of its stakeholders especially it’s highly valued Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders and legacy pension funds owners that have entrusted their funds to the management.
The company currently manages pension assets worth N382 billion and has so far paid out N93.4 billion to pensioners. Ideva said retirees get their payment alert on the 19th of the month
The certification is a further demonstration of Premium Pension’s zeal in ensuring the safety of legacy funds owners, while on the part of board and management, it is another indication of excellence and a measure of its strong corporate governance anchored on global best practices.
Chairman of the company, Mr. Aliyu Dikko said that the achievement of the ISO-27001:2013 certification is a visible proof of the company’s commitment to meet internationally- accepted data security standards.
According to him, being the first PFA in the country to achieve the certification was attained through the foresight, hard work and dedication of the board, management and staff of the company who are seasoned professionals in the pension industry. Dikko said that the certification is to demonstrate that the company has placed information security as a priority, while assuring stakeholders that a best practice security system is in place with strong compliance with National Pension Commission, PenCom, IT Standard.
Dikko said that the certification will enhance the confidence of RSA holders, retirees, regulators and stakeholders that its system and processes are among the best in the industry.
Also, Managing Director/CEO, Digital Jewels Limited, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa said that ISO-27001:2013 is aimed at instilling a continuous improvement culture which focuses at securing and protecting the information assets of the company and compliance to global best practice standard. The coverage of the standard extends across physical, technical and administration security.
She said the company has successfully passed through the first and second technical assessment stages as required by the British Standard Institute (BSI) as a prerequisite for the award of certification.
