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Tag: PenCom

  • Partial implementation of CPS by Southsouth worries PenCom

    Partial implementation of CPS by Southsouth worries PenCom

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has expressed worry over the partial implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by states in the Southsouth geopolitical zone of the country.

    The commission however, said despite this development, the pension scheme under the CPS has generated N5.03trillion worth of pension assets invested in various sectors of the economy.

    Its Director-General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu who spoke during the Southsouth sensitisation conference on the impact of the Pension Reform Act 2014 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, said the partial implementation of the scheme in the zone has denied them of the advantages that came with full compliance.

    Represented by the Commissioner, Inspectorate of the commission, Prof. Mohammed Ka’oje, she said the scheme also makes available for the benefit of states a pool of investible  funds to drive economic and infrastructural development in their respective areas.

    She said: “It is heartwarming to note that within a decade of the implementation of the scheme in Nigeria, the story of pension administration is changing into a positive narrative; the scheme has so far delivered all the major objectives of the reform.

    “We are proud to state that since its establishment 11 years ago, there had been no case of malpractice recorded in the administration of the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria.

    “In addition, the scheme has so far generated over N5.03 trillion worth of pension assets invested in various sectors of the Nigerian economy as at date.”

    She said the scheme has delivered all the major objectives for which  the reform was set to acheive.

    She, however, appealed to all the states and local governments in the Southsouth region to step-up  efforts at implementing the scheme in order to avail themselves and their employees the opportunities the scheme offers.

    Speaking on the occasion, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Moses Ekpo, said the upward review of the scheme, had introduced minimum contribution rate from 15 per cent to 18 per cent from monthly emolument.

    He said this will empower all employers to contribute 10 per cent, while the remaining eight per cent is made by the employee.

    According him, the Reform Act also made it mandatory for employers of labour to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account, on behalf of its employees who failed to open such account within three months after being employed.

    He said the Pension Reform Act  2014 has criminalised the practice  of misappropriation of pension funds by public officials.

    He said: “Again, it must be put on record that in the recent past, where certain public officials indulged in wanton misappropriation of pension funds, these are acts that are both criminal in nature as well as evil in intention, as they not only deprive hard-working citizens of this country from accessing their due benefits, but further aggravates frustration among such individuals.

    “This is the height of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, even as it amounts to a crime against the state. “This is more so because pension is a reward for all the toils and sacrifices of the working man and woman.”

  • Pension funds safe, says PenCom chief

    Pension funds safe, says PenCom chief

    There has been no record of pension fraud or embezzlement under the new pension scheme, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the Director-General, National Pension Commission (PeCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.

    Speaking to reporters in Abuja, he said the over N5trillion pension funds under the CPS arrangement is safe.

    According to her, the fact that there has been no record of fraud, stealing or unlawful diversion by both regulator and operators since the establishment of the CPS shows that the scheme is safe. She said unlike in the past where Nigeria operated the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBs), which left a total deficit of over N2trillion, the CPS has in 10 years accumulated over N5trillion.

    The PenCom chief debunked claims that N3.5 trillion of the pension assets had been drawn down by the previous administration to finance recurrent expenditure. She said this is not correct noting that the amount being referred to, is the current total value of pension fund investments in Federal Government of Nigeria bonds and treasury bills.

    She assured that the pension fund assets are intact, stating that treasury bills and government bonds are adjudged to be the safest instruments for pension fund investments.

    She explained that the administration and workings of the CPS makes it difficult for anyone to steal or divert the funds.

    She said: “The scheme requires pension funds to be privately managed by licensed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). They have been duly licensed to open Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs)for employees, invest and manage the pension funds in a manner as the Commission may from time to time prescribe; maintain books of accounts on all transactions relating to the pension funds managed by it; provide regular information to the employees or beneficiaries and pay retirement benefits to employees in accordance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    “Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) will be responsible for the warehousing of the pension fund assets. The PFAs shall not be allowed to hold the pension funds’ assets. The employer sends the contributions directly to the custodian, who notifies the PFA of the receipt of the contribution and the PFA subsequently credits the retirement savings account of the employee.

    “The custodian will execute transactions and undertake activities relating to the administration of pension fund investments upon instructions by the PFA. The custodian shall hold pension fund assets on trust for its clients.”

    She further explained that the key objective of the pension reform is to introduce a pension system that is sustainable and has the capacity to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a stable, predictable and adequate source of retirement income for each worker in Nigeria.

    “The reform also seeks to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for the administration and payment of retirement benefits in both the public and private sectors; stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities; reduce fiscal cost of pension to government; stimulate domestic savings; and generate pool of long-term funds for financing developmental projects and increase private investments,” she said.

    She pointed out that the  CPS  has gradually  gained  public  confidence   and  acceptability   within the  short  period  of  its implementation, adding that the  private  sector,  which  hitherto was  apprehensive   of the CPS,  has come  to accept  it and  is implementing the reform.

  • PenCom emerges best performing establishment in Africa

    PenCom emerges best performing establishment in Africa

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has emerged the best performing pension institution on governance in Africa.

    The Commission was also awarded the best performed in coverage and social economic impact.

    The award is the maiden edition of the Africa Pensions Awards (APA) presented at the closing ceremony of the World Pension Summit Africa Special in Abuja.

    Present at the event were governors Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa-Ibom. Also in attendance were senators, members of the diplomatic corps, local and international economic experts, stakeholders across the world in the pension industry.

    In the category of pension coverage, the Kenyan Retirement Benefit Authority was declared winner of the best performed pension institution based on its wide coverage of its informal sector while in the category of Economic Social Impact, the Namibia Financial Institution Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) was adjudged the best based on its innovations in pension regulation, and security markets regulation.

    The Chairman of the African Pension Award Committee, John Ashcroft who announced the winners of the awards said the 2015 African Pension Award was structured into three categories namely governance, pension coverage and social economic impact.

    He explained that the governance category awards was to honour countries which introduced innovations in the legal and institutional frameworks, adopted efficiency in their pension processes, corporate governance structures and service delivery.

    He added that the pension coverage award category was designed to celebrate countries that provided channels for sustainable livelihood like basic needs such as food and shelter for its citizenry, especially during old age.

    He said: “It is also intended to honour countries which have incorporated both the formal and informal sectors of the economy in their pension scheme.

    “The social economic impacts category was designed to evaluate how countries that utilised pension funds under the contributory system, to provide financial intermediation for the real sector and infrastructure development. It is also designed to honour nations whose pension funds impacted their local capital markets and insurance.”

  • Oshiomhole clarifies position on N3.5trn pension fund

    Oshiomhole clarifies position on N3.5trn pension fund

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole has clarified his position on the Pension fund, saying he never accused PENCOM of diverting N3.5 trillion pension funds because it has nothing to do directly with pension money in the first place.

    He said, rather, his position is about how pension funds operators invest hard-earned workers’ money in FGN Bonds and Treasury Bills, which in turn was grossly mismanaged through funding consumption.

    In a statement personally signed by him, Oshiomhole said: “recently, a section of news media attributed comments to me regarding the way and manner in which pension funds to the tune of 3.5 trillion Naira were drawn down to support recurrent expenditure and not infrastructure development. In the said reports, the impression created was that I had accused the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) of colluding with the Federal Ministry of Finance to divert the said amount.

    “Considering the manner in which this serious economic issue that borders on the future of the Nigerian economy and the welfare of the Nigerian workers who make contributions to the pension funds, is being misrepresented and trivialized in the media, I wish to make some clarifications and set the record straight.

    “As someone involved from the outset in the crafting of the PENCOM Act, I am very much aware that under the law, PENCOM is a regulator of the financial institutions and operators that deal directly with the management of the pension funds and pension assets, namely: the pension funds administrators (PFAs) and the pension funds custodians (PFCs). I could not have said therefore that PENCOM diverted pension money because it has nothing to do directly with pension money in the first place.

    “Indeed, I recall that when the pension reforms, which led to the creation of PENCOM were being formulated, the selling point of the contributory pension scheme was that pension funds should be source of cheap and long-term funds that would be used to support programmes and investments that will enhance workers welfare such as workers’ housing and the creation of a robust mortgage system.

    “However, what turned out in the management and operations of the pension funds was a completely different ball game. It is open knowledge that the PFAs are among the major subscribers of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds and Treasury Bills, which are instruments of FGN’s domestic borrowing, issued periodically by the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) respectively, on behalf of the Federal Government. FGN Bonds as debt securities are generally considered safest relative to other debt instruments in the capital market because they are governed by the “faith and credit” principle; offer attractive rates and guaranteed returns, at least in theory.

    “It is, therefore, not a new revelation that total subscriptions of pension funds to the FGN Bonds are in excess of 3.5 trillion Naira or about 70% of the total funds (estimated at 5.1 trillion Naira) so far accrued under the contributory pension scheme. It is also not a secret that in the last five years under the previous administration, the Federal Government had engaged in monthly bond issuances as a means of raising finance to fund recurrent expenditure and service domestic debts, rather than finance capital projects, which was the main purpose of bond issuance if domestic borrowing was to be a productive and beneficial activity to the national economy. These are facts that could easily be verified from the PFAs and PFCs; DMO, Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as CBN, if journalists and the media they represented have gone the extra mile to find out.

    “The issue clearly was not about PENCOM diverting pension funds. It was about how pension funds operators invest hard-earned workers’ money in FGN Bonds and Treasury Bills, which in turn was grossly mismanaged through funding consumption (recurrent expenditure, payment of salaries for federal employees, financing budget deficits and domestic debt servicing) rather than concrete investment in critical infrastructure, housing, etc.

    “Pensions as workers savings, rather than being invested in capital projects with multiplier effects on jobs and incomes, are being invested in bonds which go into funding wasteful recurrent spending. Spending borrowed money on unproductive ventures typically generates inflationary pressures that lead to devaluation of the currency and purchasing power of workers. The net effect is that by the time these savings are required to pay pensioners in the future their real value would have been eroded quite significantly. As we have seen even in advanced economies, such kind of mismanagement of pension funds had easily sparked economic crisis that undermined the welfare of workers and retirees.

    “I have followed the recent World Pensions Summit organized by PENCOM and all through experts and analysts kept emphasizing that pension funds should be invested in infrastructure like roads, power and other productive ventures to develop the national economy. The point here is that pension funds should not be invested in instruments that mobilize funds only for unproductive and wasteful ventures.

    “It is in the public domain that federal budgets in the last four years have devoted as much as 85% of the budgetary outlay to recurrent expenditures including salaries. The National Assembly on whose onus rests the approval of the budget has been lamenting year-in-year-out, this is clearly bad economics, a situation in which only a paltry 15% of the budgetary outlay was devoted to capital projects and investment in the last five years. Federal legislators have also openly complained about the fact that even the 15% capital expenditure is hardly executed fully, implying that the amount devoted to recurrent expenditure will be even much higher than the 85% reported officially.

    “Based on the foregoing, let me reiterate that nothing I have said about pension funds and how they have been managed in the last five years is new. Everything I have said is in the public domain and can be verified. It behooves the media and journalists to refrain from twisting and misrepresenting critical national issues such as this one, so that they will not give individuals or institutions that mismanage the national economy an escape route to divert attention or muddle-up the issues. This is a responsibility we all owe Nigeria and the future generations.”

  • PenCom probes 15,000 employers for failing to remit pension

    OF the 200,000 employers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), 15, 000 are being investigated for failing to remit pensions deducted from their employees’ monthly emoluments, Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.

    In a report, she  said the defaulters have been assigned to Recovery Agents (RAs) to review their records and recover any outstanding pension contributions plus penalty

    According to her, in pursuance of the statutory responsibility of ensuring compliance with the provision of the PRA 2014, the Commission deployed an application called Risk Management Analysis system for monitoring remittance of monthly pension contributions by employers.

    She said: “Defaulting employers are subject to the regime of sanctions which includes among others a recovery process.

    “The framework for recovery of outstanding pension contributions with penalty from defaulting employers among others, provided for appointment of RAs.

    “Consequently, the Commission has identified and assigned over 15,000 employers to RAs to review their records and recover any outstanding pension contributions plus penalty. The Commission also follows up on complaints from workers against their employers for failure to remit pension contributions as and when due.”

    Mrs Anohu-Amazu noted that where the employer refuses to remit the outstanding pension contributions of its employee within the time  stipulated by the  Commission, appropriate actions, including instituting legal action are taken.

    She further said remittances by state governments have also been irregular.

    “Irregular remittance by some state governments contribute to the unfunded RSAs which is caused by the economic challenges faced within the country.

    “The private sector employers also view pension contributions as an additional cost of doing business which translates to non-funding of RSAs. In addition, refusal of employees to allow deduction of their own portion of the pension contributions from their salaries due to lack of awareness of the benefits of the CPS and measures put in place for the safety of the pension funds contribute to poor funding of RSAs.”

    She stressed that both PenCom and the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) work towards ensuring employers continuously fund their employees RSAs.

     

  • Why there are delays in paying federal retirees, others, by PenCom

    Why there are delays in paying federal retirees, others, by PenCom

    Federal retirees and kinsmen to deceased employees are at the receiving end whenever there are delays in the funding of the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund by the Federal Government, National Pension Commission (PenCom) Director-General CHINELO ANOHU-AMAZU says   in her presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari on the pension reforms since 2004.   The presentation also reveals that despite the availability of N3.95 trillion for infrastructure financing, only N156.3 billion has been accessed, leaving N3.77 trillion untapped.

    Pension and related issues had received significant attention over the recent past with the aim of solving the myriad of challenges bedevilling the retirement benefit system in Nigeria.  The public sector scheme became unsustainable due to lack of adequate and timely budgetary provisions and increases in salaries and pensions.  There were demographic shifts due to rising life expectancies, which was a phenomenon that affected the family support ratio. In addition, Pension Administration had been largely weak, inefficient, less transparent and cumbersome.  The private sector schemes, which were largely akin to the Provident Fund Schemes, had been characterised by very low coverage and compliance ratio due to lack of effective regulation and supervision.  This resulted in complete paradigm shift from the Defined Benefits Schemes as operated by both the public and private sectors to the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    The key objective of the pension reform is to introduce a pension system that is sustainable and has the capacity to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a stable, predictable and adequate source of retirement income for each worker in Nigeria. The reform also seeks to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for the administration and payment of retirement benefits in both the public and private sectors; stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities; reduce fiscal cost of pension to government; stimulate domestic savings; and generate pool of long-term funds for financing developmental projects and increase private investments.

    Accordingly, the Federal Government enacted the Pension Reform Act 2004, which established the Contributory Pension Scheme and the National Pension Commission. The Commission has been empowered by the Pension Reform Act 2004 to superintend on all pension matters. This includes supervision and regulation of the Contributory Pension Scheme and the Defined Benefits Scheme as well as the administrative structures established pursuant to the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    After 10 years of implementation of the Pension Reform Act 2004, the Pension Reform Act 2014 was enacted on  July 1, 2014. The major thrusts of the 2014 Act are the enhancement of the powers of the Commission in its regulatory and enforcement activities, enhancement of the protection of pension fund assets, provision of greater opportunity for investment of pension funds in infrastructure and housing development, review of the sanctions regime to reflect current realities, provisions that would facilitate the participation of the informal sector and provide the framework for the adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme by states and local governments. The 2014 Act also repositioned the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorates (PTADs) for greater efficiency and accountability in the administration and payment of pensions under the Defined Benefits Scheme.

    The Commission, as regulator of all pension matters, had established institutional and legal frameworks to facilitate the successful implementation of the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014. In this regard, 26 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), 57 Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) and seven Closed Pension Fund Administrators (CPFAs) were licensed. However, due to the consolidation of the pension industry following the recapitalisation conducted in 2012, there are currently 21 PFAs and four PFCs while the number of CPFAs remains seven.

    The Commission operates under a Board of Directors that reports directly to Mr. President by virtue of Section 9 of the 1st Schedule to Pension Reform Act 2014. The Board is headed by a part-time chairman with a director- general as the chief executive officer. Other members of the board include four full-time commissioners and representatives of the following ten agencies and institutions. They are: Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Federal Ministry of Finance; Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); Trade Union Congress (TUC); Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP); Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA);

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and National Insurance Commission (NIC).

    The chairman, the director-general and the four full-time commissioners each represent one of the six geo-political zones. The day–to–day running of the commission is handled by an executive committee that comprises the director-general and the four full-time commissioners. The Senate and the House of Representatives both have oversight functions on the Commission through the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and the House Committee on Pensions respectively.

    There is no doubt that CPS has gained public confidence and acceptability as a result of which 6.63 million employees from both the public and private sectors had opened Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as at  June 30. The scheme had accumulated approximately N5 trillion worth of pension assets over the same period with a monthly inflow of about N30 billion and an average of 30 per cent annual growth rate. The inflow consists of contributions by employers and employees of both the public (including states and local governments) and private sectors. Initially, the rate of contribution was 7.5 per cent each by employers and employees. However, as provided in the Pension Reform Act 2014, the contribution rate has been reviewed upwards to 10 per cent and eight per cent by employer and employee respectively.

    The Federal Government contributions are deducted at source by the Accountant-General of the Federation and remitted into a Contribution Account in the CBN.  However, for the Federal Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), the Accountant-General of the Federation makes direct remittance of the monthly pension contributions of their employees. In addition, the Federal Government has acknowledged the pension liability for the past services rendered by its employees prior to the enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2004. This liability is being funded by the government through a revolving Fund for which an account, the Retirement Bond Redemption Fund Account, was opened and is being managed by the CBN. The Act provides that the Federal Government remits at least five per cent of its monthly wage bill into this account for the payment of the accrued pension rights.

    The Pension Reform Act 2014 has stipulated the allowable instruments for investment of pension funds and assets. The instruments must be structured and traded on the platform of a Stock Exchange licensed or recognised by the SEC; and Money Market Platform approved by the CBN. Exercising its regulatory responsibility, the commission had issued egulation on Investment of Pension Fund Assets to further guide how the pension contributions should be invested. The pension assets have been largely invested in Federal Government Securities, Equities, Money Market Instruments and Corporate Debt. The Commission has been making efforts to stimulate growth in the economy by introducing new assets classes into the portfolio of the pension funds provided they are allowed by the Pension Reform Act 2014. In this regard, infrastructure funds and bonds were introduced to bridge the gap in the financing of infrastructure and housing. However, despite the availability of N3.95 trillion for infrastructure financing, only N156.3 billion has been taken, leaving N3.77 trillion untapped.

    The payment of retirement benefits under the CPS to retirees as well as death claims to beneficiaries of deceased employees is regular and timely except for the delays being experienced in the settlement of accrued benefits of the Federal Government retirees and deceased employees whenever there are delays in the funding of the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund by the government as is the case in 2012, 2014 and 2015. About N483.33 billion has been released into the Retirement Benefits Bonds Redemption Fund Account, which was invested by the CBN and yielded N7.71 billion between 2006 and March 2015. Consequently,  N490.09 million was paid as accrued pension rights to 81,764 retirees and 15,244 deceased employees from inception to March 2015.

    It is worthy of note that the Federal Government is yet to release monthly mandates for the payment of accrued rights for September to December 2014 and April to August amounting to N35.30 billion. Meanwhile, the accrued benefits of 8,193 retirees and death benefits of 4,847 deceased employees amounting to N48.39 billion were processed for February to August, but were yet to be settled by the Federal Government. This clearly shows that even if the total outstanding monthly mandates were released, there will still be a shortfall of N13.09 billion. In addition, the total mandate for September to December will be N20.08 billion from the total accruable benefits of N23.12 billion, leaving a shortfall of N3.04 billion. Thus, even if all the mandates for the period of September 2014 to August this year were released, there will still be underfunding to the tune of N16.13 billion.

     

    Ten states yet to adopt CPS

     

    Already, 26 states of the federation had adopted the Contributory Pension Scheme and are at various levels of implementation. The Scheme had facilitated increased transparency and accountability in determining budgetary estimates for payments of pensions by the Federal Government and all the state governments that adopted it. Similarly, about 200,000 private sector employers had implemented the scheme.

     

    The PRA 2004 and subsequently the PRA 2014 have both recognised the pension arrangements made for all those exempted from the Contributory Pension Scheme, namely, judicial officers, the military, security agencies and those already retired under the old Defined Benefits Scheme before July 2007. In this regard, the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) was established by both the 2004 and 2014 Acts to coordinate administration of pension for the latter retirees while the National Judicial Commission (NJC), the Military Pension Board (MPB) and security sgencies handle pension matters for the judicial officers, the military and security agencies respectively. However, the 2014 Act established separate Pension Transition Arrangement Directorates for the Federal Government and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Repositioning the scheme

    A five-year strategy plan has been concluded to re-position the pension industry. In this regard, initiatives were designed to extend pensions to the informal sector through Micro Pension Plan. The aim is to extend pension coverage to 20 million Nigerians by 2019 and to 30 million by 2024. All self-funding public agencies had switched over to the Contributory Pension Scheme except the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). However, a 12-month grace was given to the NNPC to ensure full compliance with the Pension Reform Act 2014.

    Challenges of the pension scheme

    • Inadequate funding of retirement benefits

    • Delays in releasing funds to pay the accrued benefits

    • Federal Government is yet to implement the 15% and 33% pension increase for its pensioners as approved in 2007 and 2014

    • Substantial amounts are owed to Federal Government retirees under the DB Scheme

    • Non-Implementation of new rate of pension contributions for federal employees from the old rate of 7.5% by both employer and employee to the new rates of 10% by employer and 8% by employee as stipulated in Section 4(1) of the PRA 2014.

    • Review of Accrued Pension Rights and Entitlements as provided by Section 15(4) of the PRA 2014 pursuant to Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution

    • Paucity of assets that qualify for Pension Fund Investments.

    • Provisions of Section 6(2) of the PRA 2014 on the payment of any shortfall in the retirement Benefits of Professors and category of Political Appointees entitled to retire with full benefits is yet to be implemented.

    • Lack of accurate personnel information for prompt remittance of monthly pension contributions of FGN employees of MDAs that are yet to be captured under the IPPIS platform.

    • Absence of a Nigerian Mortality Table to facilitate the accurate computation of benefits under the CPS, which necessitated the Commission to adopt the A(55) and A49/52 Mortality Tables published by the Institute of Actuaries of the United Kingdom (UK) and being used by Actuarial firms in Nigeria.

     

     

     

     

  • PenCom holds global pension summit

    THE second edition of the world pension summit ‘Africa Special’, scheduled to hold on October 5 and 6 at the congress hall of the transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja, will provide a platform for pension regulators and operators in Africa to prepare for the challenge of positively contributing to the socio-economic growth of the continent. It will also ensure that retirement benefits are paid as and when due, Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.
    Mrs Anohu-Amazu made this known at the World Press Conference of the 2nd Edition of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’ at Zen Garden held in Lagos.
    The PenCom DG also announced that the Commission will also launch a new logo.
    She said this year’s summit, which has as its theme: “Building sustainable pension systems in Africa’’, would attract diverse experts across the world in the areas of investment, infrastructure financing, real estate and other pension-related fields.
    In line with the theme of the summit, she said they have painstakingly selected a number of sub-themes that they feel would resonate with all stakeholders in furthering the objective of enhancing pension administration in Africa.
    She said: “You will agree with me that Africa, today, faces huge infrastructure challenges and pension funds, as long term capital, are ideally suited for investment in infrastructure.
    “However, infrastructure financing is still a major challenge for most African countries despite the availability of huge aggregate of pension funds. The plenaries on “The Real Deal: Structuring Pension Investments for Sustainability’’ and Expanding Investment Frontiers for Pension Funds’’ both aim to address the issue of sustainability in the investment of pension funds and the frameworks that need to be developed to achieve wider scope for investment of pension funds.
    “Not much has been achieved so far in Africa in the area of micro-pension plans. It is, therefore, appropriate to focus attention on the huge opportunities that exist in this area to encourage African countries to take bold steps to come up with suitable and innovative pension plans that would adequately cater for the needs of informally employed individuals.”
    She explained that the plenary on “Prospects for Micro Pension Plants in Africa’’ is designed to share experiences of countries such as India and Kenya, which have made significant advances in pensions for the informal sector, adding that the Commission has introduced Africa pension awards into the worldpensionsummit ‘Africa special’.

  • Buhari wades into retirement benefits crisis

    Buhari wades into retirement benefits crisis

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday waded into the problems preventing some retirees from accessing their retirement benefits.

    He directed the Pensions Commission (PENCOM) to urgently look into such complaints.

    The Director General of PENCOM, Dr. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, disclosed this to State House correspondents after briefing the President on the affairs of the pension Industry.

    She said: “The President has also directed for immediate resolution because you also have to be mindful of the situation we live in, most of them who are not able to access their benefits, had to do with accrued rights. The problems involved those who were federal government workers and had moved to the contributory pension systems midway into their career.

    “So they have accrued right coming from their past service under the defined benefit under the federal government and what you have is because our budget is not as robust as we would wish, we have dwindling resources and every sector of the economy is affected.

    “But the President has also directed that this matter be looked into and prioritized so that those who have retired receive their payment benefits as at when due.”

    According to her, President Buhari also directed PENCOM to work with the National Economic Council (NEC) to ensure that all the states are in full compliance with PENCOM as soon as possible.

     

  • NSE, TUC, NAICOM join PenCom board

    The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have joined the board of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Head, Research and Corporate Strategy Department of PenCom, Umaru Farouk Aminu,  has said.

    Aminu made this known during a chat with Insurance and Pension Correspondents in Lagos.

    He said earlier, the Commission had the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Private sector and the Federal Government on its board.

  • PenCom advises retirees against huge lump sum payout

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) have advised retirees against huge withdrawal as lump sum payout after retirement from their Retirement Benefits Account balance to avoid little amount as monthly pension.

    PenCom Head, Research & Corporate Strategy PenCom, Farouk Aminu gave the advice while speaking with journalists in Lagos.

    He noted that many retirees have burnt their fingers with such decisions, adding that the quest to withdraw fabulous amounts at retirement, leaving little in the account is responsible for the little monthly pension some retirees receive.

    He called on retirees to take less lump-sum payout if they don’t have need for much financial needs, stressing that less lump-sum will help them keep more money in their accounts.

    “People should take less lump sum unless they need it. If they do not need it, they should not take it. It is important people really understand this. The more lump sum you take the less money you leave in your RSA and the lower your pension.

    “People take much of their money and blow it and expect the little they left to perform wonders. People should leave a lot of money behind so that they can have huge pension,” he said.

    He urge retirees to take less lump-sum payout if they don’t have need for it, adding that less lump-sum will help them keep more money in the Retirement Savings Account (RSA).

     

     

    “You must assume responsibility for how the money is invested and how much you can afford to spend each month. One danger with a lump sum is that you may be tempted to spend too much today, leaving you short of money down the line. By choosing a steady monthly payout, you’ll avoid the temptation to run through your pension stash.