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Tag: PenCom

  • Pension fund assets hit N8.14tr, says PenCom

    The total pension fund assets stood at N8.14 trillion as at the end of May, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) said yesterday.

    PenCom spokesman Peter Aghahowa added that the assets rose from N7.52 trillion in December 2017.

    The commission said: ”The pension assets as at December 2017 stood at N7.52tr, it moved up to N7.8 trillion as at February and soared to N7.94 trillion in March, then to N8.14 trillion in May.”

    It explained that N5.2 trillion had been invested in Federal Government Securities by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs)

    It said the investment represented 70.08 per cent of the N8.14 trillion pension assets.

    “A breakdown of the investment is FGN bonds got N3.96 trillion; treasury bills, N1.68 trillion, agency bond like the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) got N6.54 billion, Sukuk bonds got N51.98 billion and green bond got N8.26 billion.

    “The state government securities gulped N154.02 billion; corporate bonds, N393.27 billion; corporate infrastructure bonds, N8.36 billion; banks, N662.80 billion; commercial papers, N71.75 billion and estate properties, N228.86 billion.

    a“Other classes of assets include, supra-national bonds, N8.21 billion; open/close end funds, N10.16 billion; mutual funds, N1987 billion; private equity fund N3727 billion; infrastructure fund, N8.95 billion and cash & other assets N96.13 billion,” the commission said.

  • Retired policemen accuse PENCOM of mishandling of pension

    Retired policemen have accused the Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) of alleged  mishandling of their pension.

    The ex-police officers, who retired from service between May last year and this year, have called on the Federal  Government  to intervene.

    The retired police officers said that while none of them, including  those who had retired since last year, were yet to be paid any money from their contributory pension scheme,  the PENCOM had decided to reduce by half the lump sum it ought to pay them.

    The retirees, who said many of them had died of starvation, fallen sick or incurred a lot of debt, added that the about N1.5 million, which the PENCOM wanted to pay them as lump sum, would  be too meagre to meet their needs.

    The retirees, who spoke with reporters at the weekend in Ilorin,  Kwara  State capital,  wondered why the pension commission would decide to pay 25 to 30 per cent of their pension when it, as they claimed, paid 53 per cent to their predecessors.

     

     

  • PenCom educates prospective retirees

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has sensitised and enlightened prospective retirees (due to retire in 2019), on sundry steps, procedures and documentations required for a stress-free retirement.

    The prospective retirees comprised staff of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.

    The workshop was meant to educate participants on how to transit seamlessly from active employment to retirement under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    Also, the regulatory agency released the time table for the 2018 verification and enrolment exercise of employees of the federal government Treasury Funded MDAs retiring in 2019.

    The verification will take place in 15 centres across the six geo-political zones of the country, including the Federal Capital from the 25th of June 25 to August 17, 2018.

    According to PenCom Acting Director-General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, “one of the salient objectives of the Pension Reform Act (PRA 2014) is to make pension administration transparent and seamless. Accordingly, the Commission has established uniform set of rules, regulations and standards for all aspects of pension administration, including payment of retirement benefits to retirees.

    “This was achieved in the case of the latter, through issuance of the Regulation on Administration of Retirement and Terminal Benefits; Regulation on Retire Life Annuity; the Frameworks on Pension Enhancement & Programmed Withdrawals; and the Circular on Voluntary Contributions amongst others.”

    She added:  “As part of our annual regulatory activities, the Commission has finalised arrangements to commence the verification of prospective retirees, who will be retiring in 2019 from the public service. The verification exercise is scheduled to be undertaken from June 25, to August 17, 2018 in 15 centers across the country. The impending exercise, therefore, necessitated the need to undertake adequate sensitisation and public enlightenment in order to prepare prospective retirees on the steps to take towards a hitch free retirement life.”

    Also sensitized on the consolidation of benefits on retirement, modes of withdrawal of benefits on retirement, rights of retirees and roles of the Pension Fund Administrators(PFAs) and PenCom in the retirement process.

    They were also advised to enroll for retirement during the ongoing enrolment of prospective retirees by the commission, as enrollment by proxy will not be entertained except on proven cases of medical incapacitation.

    According to the Commission, participants, having been armed with the requisite information at the workshop, should be in a better position to make informed decisions that will make their retirement from active service stress-free.

     

  • PenCom prepares workers for 2019 retirement

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has begun to prepare prospective retirees, who will be retiring next year from the public service, Acting Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar has said.

    She made this known in her opening remarks at the pre-retirement workshop for Federal Government retirees due to retire in 201 under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)

    The Commission, she revealed,  has, however, finalised arrangements to commence the verification of prospective retirees from June 25, to August 17, 2018 in 15 centres across the country.

    According to her, the pre-retirement workshop was part of their annual regulatory activities. “The verification exercise is scheduled to be undertaken The impending exercise, therefore, necessitated the need to undertake adequate sensitisation and public enlightenment in order to prepare prospective retirees on the steps to take towards a hitch-free retirement life.

    “We consider contributors, who are about to join the CPS retirees as very important stakeholders. One of the salient objectives of the Pension Reform Act (PRA 2014) is to make pension administration under the CPS transparent and seamless,

    “Accordingly, the Commission has established uniform set of rules, regulations and standards for all aspects of pension administration, including payment of retirement benefits to retirees. This was achieved through the issuance of the regulations on administration of retirement and terminal benefits; regulation on retire life annuity; the frameworks on pension enhancement & programmed withdrawals; and the circular on voluntary contributions among others.

    Papers presented  included enrolment exercise and documentation requirements, accessing retirement and terminal benefits under the CPS and Life after retirement. She expressed hope that the workshop would educate pension participants on what they need to know on documentation requirements, payment of retirement benefits and life after retirement.

     

  • PenCom approves Ottun as AIICO Pension ED

    THE National Pension commission (pENCOM) has approved the appointment of Babatunde Ottun as Executive Director Operations and Business Development. Ottun had been a Director on Board of AIICO Pension Managers Limited.

    In a statement by the firm’s Head of Strategy and Corporate Communications, Olubankole Ekundayo, the appointment was announced by the AIICO Chairman, Ernest Ebi at the company’s 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

    The statement, in part stated: “Ottun, until his appointment to the board, was the Head of Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications of the company and had oversight responsibility over the Business Development and Sales function. In his new capacity, he will be charged with the responsibility of driving the operational functions of the company, including contribution and collections, Benefit Administration, Information Technology, Business Development and Client Services.

    “He is expected to bring to the board his wealth of experience in the areas of business development, strategic planning and processes improvement that will help in achieving the company’s goals and objectives. Ottun holds a Bachelor of Science in Economic & Social Policy from Birkbeck College University of London, Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Greenwich School of Management and a Masters in Business Administration from London School of Management & Technology.

    “He has also attended Senior Management Programme of the Pan Atlantic University (Lagos Business School) and the Strategic Thinking and Leadership for Growth Programme at the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. He is an associate member of the National Institute of Marketing Nigeria (Chartered) and the Certified Institute of Pension,” it added.

     

  • PenCom plans to assist workers own houses

    As Nigerian workers seek ways of owning their individual houses, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), says it is in the process of developing a workable guideline to allow Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders access part of their pension contribution for mortgage financing.

    Mr Peter Aghahowa, the Head, Corporate Communications of PenCom told  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo yesterday that the commission was already making contacts with relevant stakeholders with a view to getting inputs before rolling out the guideline for the initiative.

    “Talking about the first one which is using pensions for mortgage, a guideline has been developed and in implementing the initiative, there are stakeholders that will be involved in the process,” he said.

    “A draft guideline has been developed and we have also engaged stakeholders that will be involved in the process.

    “Now, we are taking our time because we want to get it right, the process is ongoing, we intend to expose the guideline once the draft is ready, so that all stakeholders can have a look at it again and give us their feedback.

    “So that we can go back, fine-tune it and come up with a final guideline that will be implemented.”

    Aghahowa said the commission had also produced guidelines for the take-off of micro pension scheme aimed at integrating informal sector operators into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    “For the micro pension, it is also the same process, the guideline has been in the works and I am also happy to say that just last week, we released the draft guideline, which is on our website.

    “Now that it is out, it has been exposed and we are engaging stakeholders, we expect feedback from relevant stakeholders including the press so that we can come back to fine-tune it and have it ready for implementation,” he said.

    Aghahowa said that planned integration of informal sector operators into the CPS remained an initiative the commission holds so passionately, saying its successful implementation would result in further expansion of the nation’s pension system.

    “You are aware that this is what the commission has been very passionate about because it is going to expand our coverage because most members of the society, especially those in informal sector who are engaged in business activities will be captured,’’ he said.

  • PenCom, LASPEC move to implement PRA 2014

    Lagos State is amending its pension laws to align with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

    Despite its initiative of adopting the Contributory Pension Security (CPS) early and leading other states  in pension matters, the state said it is deepening its collaboration to have a feel of the innovations coming from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and exchange ideas a regulator.

    The scheme regulator is working with the state to implement new guidelines that have been introduced since the amendment of the PRA in 2014.

    Some of the drafts and guidelines released by PenCom in recent years are the multi-fund structure; pension enhancement for retirees on programmed withdrawal; harmonisation of pension entitlements; access to RSA; the mortgage option and minimum pension guarantee.

    Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) Director-General, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said it was cogent to update the state government officials in charge of pension matters on innovations in the PRA 2014.

    During a seminar on update on the CPS, Lagos, she said, subscribed to the contributory pensions introduced by the Federal Government and with PenCom as a regulator.

    She noted that PenCom is the national regulator of the CPS while LASPEC is Lagos State regulator.

    She said: “We need to have a feel of the innovations coming from PenCom to exchange ideas as state regulators. We understand that everything the state tries to do is to benefit the workers and we need to do this within the confines of the CPS.

    “The state is also sensitising the parastatals and agents of government on the need to comply with the Group Life Insurance Policy.”

    PenCom Southwest Zonal Manager, Mr. Babatunde Philips, while speaking on one of the guidelines, said the Commission released the amended regulation on investment of pension fund assets in 2017.

    He said the new investment guidelines introduce a multi-fund structure, which replaced the former structure that put all active contributors into one Retirement Savings Account (RSA) fund without consideration for age or risk profiles of such contributors.

    “Under the new structure, all PFAs offer the multi-fund structure for the RSA, which comprises four funds and differs based on overall exposure to variable income instruments. The different funds are made to fit the ages and risk profiles of contributors.

    “The fund types include Fund I, which is for young contributors based on choice; Fund II for young and middle-aged contributors (49 years and below); Fund III: for pre-retirees (50 years and above) and Fund IV for retirees”.

    Speaking on pension enhancement, he said there has been clamour for enhancement of pensions under the CPS, and PenCom addressed this after looking at the appreciable growth in the RSAs of retirees.

    “The commission developed a framework to set out the modalities for enhancement of the pension of retirees on PW under the CPS based on surpluses generated from return on investment on retirees’ fund,” he added.

     

  • PenCom: Desk officers need training on CPS

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has stressed the need to train desk officers for effective implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    It said this is in view of the many challenges being faced by the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPC) including different interpretations of some provisions of the Act by retirees and over/under remittance of entitlements leading to delays in processing retirement benefits.

    Speaking at the opening of the workshop designed to train Pension Desk Officers in Kaduna yesterday, the Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar said the workshop is aimed at ensuring that pension desk officers are enlightened on the processes of the CPS to surmount the challenges.

    Represented by Head, Contribution, Remittance and Bound Department at PenCom, Mr. Lana Loyinmi, she said: “The CPS is facing challenges including limited public awareness of the workings of the new CPS, different interpretations of some provisions of the Act by retirees, comparison of benefits under the old a new scheme by retirees.

    “Others include comparison of benefits by colleagues on similar position and different variables or data and over or under remittance of entitlement leading to delays in processing retirement benefits.”

    She said the objectives of Pension Reform Act 2014 is to among others establish uniform rules, regulations and standards for the administration and payments of retirement benefits in Nigeria and make provision for the smooth operations of the CPS.

    She said the Act is also to ensure that every person who worked in either the public service of the Federal Government, states and local government areas or private sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due; as well as assist individuals by ensuring that they save in order to cater for their livelihood during old age.

    She further said PenCom has the mandate to regulate and supervise the CPS, promote and offer technical assistance to the states and LGA in the application of the CPS and carryout public awareness campaign on the CPS which is why the commission decided to train desk officers.

     

  • PenCom addressing pension delay, others

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is addressing the challenges of delay in payment of retirement benefit to Federal Government retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), Director and Head, Corporate Communications Department, Peter Aghahowa has said.
    He spoke yesterday during a sensitisation workshop organised by Commission for Pension Desk Officers (PDOs) of Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) mainly from the Southwest zone of the country. The workshop held at Alausa, Lagos.
    He said the challenges were gradually being solved and the Federal Government would soon clear all backlogs in the system.
    Aghoghwa said part of the ways the Commission is addressing the challenges is by educating the PDOs on workers nominal rolls and the workings of the CPS as a whole.

    He stated that there is need for the PDOs to fully understand the CPS in order for them to be able to educate the employees.
    He said the PDOs are expected to be able to operate seamlessly and manage pension matters within their ministries, parastatals and agencies even before they escalate to PenCom and Pension Fund Administrations (PFAs).
    He said: “As part of our enlightenment program, we are meeting with the PDOs in the Southwest zone as we have done in some other parts of the country. They are crucial stakeholders in the scheme so we have to use this kind of event to educate them on the developments in pension industry.
    “It is also a good session to get feedback from them because they are the pension officers in different institutions and they interact with the employees directly. This is why we take the workshop very seriously. It is important to us so that we can bring them up to date with the developments and they can also have the opportunity to get clarification on various issues.”
    Explaining the delays in pension payment and non remittance of monthly contributions, he said: “With regard to remittance, you know that the contributions are done monthly. Yes there are challenges but if you look at where we are coming from to where we are now, you will see that there has been considerable improvements.
    “Government remittances are done mostly by PenCom while pension contributions are deducted from the source and these monies are sent to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). But the way it works for us to effectively remit the contributions is that we must get the workers nominal role. We have monies in our accounts that belong to individuals. We want to know who has the contributions and so if we don’t get the nominal roles, we are not able to remit the contributions to the individuals they belong to. So there has to be a very good synergy among the agencies that work with the contributors. For example, PenCom itself, the different agencies and the CBN where the monies are kept.
    “At the end of this workshop, we expect the PDOs majorly to be better informed. We believe that once they are better informed, they will impact the knowledge on the employees in their various institutions. So the main objective is capacity building which will help us ensue better understanding of the scheme.”

  • PenCom: operators delaying pension payments, others

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has accused some pension fund operators  of delaying the payment of retirement benefits to retirees.

    The Commission, in its 2017 Third Quarter Report, released on its website, said the pension fund operators include Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodian (PFCs) and Closed Pension Fund Custodian (CPFAs).

    According to the report, other major issues discovered from the regulator’s surveillance of the industry are un-credited pension contributions and payment of outstanding commitments of retirement benefits to the retirees from previous routine examination by the Commission.

    These issues, the report  noted, have been addressed by the affected operators as directed by the Commission.

    On Corporate Governance issues, the report stated that  29 operators forwarded their reports to the Commission.

    The major issues observed from the review of reports forwarded by operators were inadequate board composition, absence of independent directors on the board, attendance and frequency of board meetings and that of the board committees as well as annual performance of the board, amongst others.

    The report read: “The Commission continued its consultative philosophy in the regulation and supervision of the industry. The risk-based examination approach was continuously implemented as a way of promoting transparency and providing early warning signals as well as encouraging pension operators to regularly self-evaluate their positions.

    “The Commission conducted routine examinations of licensed pension fund operators during the period under review. The reports of the 2016 routine examinations were presented to the boards of the pension operators. The reports detail remedial actions to be taken on noted issues during the examination. In addition, reports on compliance and corporate governance were received from the operators as part of the off-site examination activities.

    Highlights of the reports read: “During the quarter under review, 29 operators  forwarded the corporate governance reports. The major issues observed from the review of corporate governance reports forwarded by operators were inadequate board composition, absence of independent directors on the board, attendance and frequency of board meetings and that of the board committees as well as annual performance of the board, amongst others. The affected operators were directed to redress the issues identified.

    “On updates of Returns Rendition System, as part of the their obligations to the Commission, 32 licensed pension operators comprising of 21 PFAs, 4 PFCs and 7 CPFAs rendered the returns for the pension funds under their management and custody as well as that of the company to the commission via the Risk Management & Analysis System (RMAS) for the quarter ended 30 September, 2017”, the report showed.