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Tag: PenCom

  • Pencom to begin implementation of new contributory rate

    The National Pension Commission (Pencom) has hinted of plans to begin  full implementation of the provisions of the new Pension Reform Act 2014 from  January 1, 2015. This waiver only applies to the new contributory rate as contained in the law.

    The granting of the forbearance followed the representation by NECA to PENCOM. NECA noted that the Pension Reform Act (2014) would go a long way to promote coverage and compliance, while at the same time nipping in the bud the perennial issue of pension related fraud. NECA praised  Pencom for the forbearance

    Employers both in the public and in the private sectors had raised the issue of difficulty to effect the implementation of the enhanced new rate of 10 per cent  by employers on account of the fact that the increment was not budgeted for at the beginning of the year.

    NECA on behalf of the organised private sector had taken this issue up with PENCOM.

    Commenting on the development, President of NECA, Mr. Larry Ettah said: “By this development, PENCOM has demonstrated how regulatory institutions could engage stakeholders in the promotion of socio-economic development of the country while NECA’s intervention has shown the benefits of meaningful advocacy and constructive dialogue.”

    NECA is a platform for private sector employers to interact with the government, labour, communities and other relevant institutions in and outside Nigeria for the purpose of promoting harmonious business environment that engenders productivity and prosperity for the country.

     

  • ‘PenCom’s ban on contract staff laudable’

    ‘PenCom’s ban on contract staff laudable’

    The Group Managing Director PensionScope Group, Peter Tai Adediji, has said the National Pension Commission’s (PenCom’s) recent ban on engagement of contract staff by pension operators in their key operations, is laudable because it protects the pension industry.

    In a statement made available to reporters in Lagos, Adediji urged pension operators to avoid imitating other operators who believe in casualisation of their workforce. He said due to the sensitivity of pension business, efforts must be made to forestall avenues capable of creating mistrust.

    He called on the operators to cooperate with PenCom and other stakeholders to ensure that the objectives set in the Pension Reform Act are achieved. Adediji said engagement of contract staff that are often not properly trained and not entitled to some benefits enjoyed by full time employees, portends great threat to the growth of the pension industry.

    He said the restriction is necessary at this time when some members of the public are yet to understand the difference between the old and new scheme, which has built in checks and balances to eradicate fraud.

    He said: “This is a welcome development as the engagement of contract staff is like engaging touts at our motor parks; their usefulness is never lasting. They perform more havocs than rendering unavoidable service to their ‘employers.

    “Governments at various levels have spent a lot to control the excesses of these touts especially where their activities have resulted in the loss of lives.”

    It would be recalled that PenCom in a recent circular, barred licensed pension operators from using contract staff for critical functions in their operations such as  pension administration; benefit administration; fund management and accounting; settlement; safe keeping; contribution collection and administration and information and communication technology.

    The commission hinged its decision on allegations of fraud and improper training of the outsourced staff, stressing that the risks inherent in this arrangement had already started manifesting. It said that there are several cases of fraudulent activities involving these outsourced staff.

    The commission gave all licensed operators that have in their employment outsourced staff in the affected functions, transition period of six months ending in February 2015, to convert their employment to permanent status or replace them with permanent staff.

  • PenCom grants police PFA final approval

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has granted the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Pensions Limited, a Pension Fund Administrator, full approval to operate and manage pensions of its over 300, 000 officers and men.

    PenCom Head, Surveillance Department, YakubuDatti made this known to The Nation.

    He reiterated that the personnel of the Nigeria Police are still under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by virtue of Section 1 of the Pension Reform Act 2004 and as amended in the Pension Reform Act 2014.

    Head, Police Pension Department, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Mohammed, said the police pension PFA has started operations.

    He said the police agitated for their own PFA because they have had issues of Next-of-Kin (NOK) waiting for two to three years without getting their death benefits among others.

    He said: “Police can now take their own destiny into their hands. Issue of NOK without getting the death benefits of their loved ones  and other issues will be looked into. We know our problem’s peculiarity and how to attend to it.

    “We are excited that PenCom has granted the PFA license to operate because it will allow us to be able to deal with our pensions internally.”

    PenCom Acting Director-General, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu had earlier explained that the commission exercised its statutory powers and granted the NPF PFA approval-in-principle to allow the police establish their PFA to manage their pension assets.

    According to her, this is in line with the recommendations of the Oransanye Committee, which advised that with the exception of the military, which was granted exemption, no other Federal Government institution or force should be exempted from the scheme.

    She said the NPF Pensions was borne out of government’s refusal to allow members of the Nigeria Police pull out of the scheme and the directive that they remain in the CPS and seek administrative solutions to their grievances within the framework of the pension law.

    She said in compliance with this directive, police authorities incorporated a limited liability company, the NPF Pensions Limited, which has been licensed to operate as a PFA.

    She noted that in order to ensure smooth commencement of the NPF Pensions, the commission developed an operational framework that would guide the reassignment of Personal Identification Numbers and transfer of records of all the police contributors to the NPF Pensions Limited, which would be spread over an 18-month period.

    The Police have over N305 billion pension savings with existing PFAs out of the N4.3 trillion pension funds.

  • PenCom:Northeast is least pension compliant

    The Northeast zone is the least compliant in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said.

    The zone comprised Taraba, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Adamawa states.

    However, the Southwest zone is different. It has continued to be the most complaint zone.

    The states in this zone are Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo.

    This was contained in a report titled: ‘Status of implementaion of the Contributory Pension Scheme in states,’ released by PenCom and obtained by The Nation.

    According to the report, in the Northeast  zone, Adamawa is yet to commence the implementation of the CPS while Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe states are yet to enact the law.

    Taraba is yet to appoint Pension Fund Administrator (PFAs) and has not started remittance of pension contributions, is yet to carry out actuarial valuation, commence funding of the accrued rights and yet to put in place Group Life Insurance Policy (GLIP).

     

    Southwest Zone

    In the Southwest zone, all the states have enacted the law on CPS, PenCom said. The report showed that Lagos State has registered its employees and is remitting their pension contributions. It has also funded its accrued rights and put in place Group Life Insurance Policy. The state is, however, yet to transfer the accrued right to either the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safe custody or licensed PFA for management.

    Osun State has registered its employees, is remitting pension contributions, commenced funding of its accrued right with the CBN and has put in place a GLIP.

    Ogun has registered its employees, remitting pension contributions in arrears, commenced funding of its accrued right with the CBN, yet to put in place the GLIP.  The state extended the take-off date for the implementation of the CPS by 18 years – 2025.

    Oyo has appointed PFAs but is yet to commence registration of the employees, commence remittance of pension contributions, carry out actuarial valuation, commence funding of its accrued right and put in place a GLIP.

    Ekiti has appointed PFAs, commenced registration of its employees, is yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, fund accrued rights but has put in place a GLIP.

    Ondo has enacted law on CPS but is yet to forward a copy to PenCom for review, appoint PFAs, commence registration of its employees, commence remittance of pension contributions, commence funding of the accrued rights of the employees, and put in place a GLIP.

     

    Northwest Zone

    In the Northwest zone, Katsina is yet to enact the CPS law. Jigawa has enacted it, adopted Contributory Defined Benefits Pension Scheme and transferred the pension assets to six PFAs.

    Kaduna has started registration of its employees, remitting pension contributions, commenced funding of its accrued rights, which is domiciled with commercial banks but yet to put in place a GLIP.

    Zamfara has appointed PFAs, registered its employees, started remitting employee portion of pension contributions, yet to commence remittance of employer portion of pension contributions, has not started funding of its accrued rights, yet to put in place the endowment fund in place of a GLIP

    Kebbi has commenced registration of its employees, yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, commence funding of its accrued rights and put in a GLIP.

    Sokoto has appointed PFAs, registered its employees, yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, commence funding of its accrued, put in place a GLIP.

    Kano enacted the CPS law but has adopted Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme. The state is yet to transfer pension assets to PFAs.

     

    Northcentral Zone

    In the Northcentral geopolitical zone, Kwara State is yet to commence the implementation of the CPS.

    Benue and Plateau have only drafted a bill on the CPS and are yet to enact the law.

    Niger is the most compliant in this zone. It has enacted the CPS law, registered its employees, remitting pension contributions, and funded its accrued rights but is yet to renew its GLIP. The state was issued a letter of ‘No objection’ by PenCom for the PFAs to invest in the state’s bond in November 2013 but ISPO yet to be endorsed by the CME/HMF.

    Kogi has appointed PFAs, registered only 5,232 employees, yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, carry out actuarial valuation to determine the accrued rights of the employees and yet to put in place a GLIP.

    Nasarawa has enacted the law but is yet to appoint PFAs, register its employees, commence deduction and remittance of pension contributions and yet to determine and commence funding of the accrued rights.

     

    Southsouth Zone

    The report showed that only Cross River is yet to enact the law in the In the Southsouth zone.

    Akwa Ibom has enacted the law but is yet to appoint PFAs, register its employees, commence remittance of pension contributions, carry out actuarial valuation and commence funding of the accrued rights and put in place a GLIP.

    Bayelsa is yet to register its employees, commence remittance of pension contributions, commence funding of the accrued rights and put in place a Group Life Insurance Policy.

    Rivers has registered its employees under the scheme, partially remitting pension contributions and has put in place Group Life Insurance Policy for the employees, which expired in June 2013. The state is yet to renew the plan. The report also showed that the state commenced funding of its accrued rights, domiciled it with Premium Pension Limited but later stopped.

    Edo State is yet to appoint PFAs, register its employees, commence remittance of pension contributions, carry out actuarial valuation and commence funding of the accrued rights and put in place a Group Life Insurance policy.

    Delta has registered its employees and is remitting pension contributions. It has also funded the accrued rights of the local government employees while funding for the state government employees just commenced. It is yet to put in place Group Life Insurance policy for the employees.

     

    Southeast Zone

    In the Southeast zone, Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States only drafted bills on the CPS and are yet to enact the law.

    Imo State has appointed PFAs and has registered 3,943 employees. But it is yet to commence remittance of pension contributions. But the Imo State University is implementing the CPS under the auspices of the PRA 2004. However, it is also yet to carry out actuarial valuation and commence funding of the accrued rights as well as put in place a Group Life Insurance policy.

    Although Anambra State has appointed five PFAs, it is yet to register its employees, commence remittance of pension contributions and yet to put in place a GLIP. It has, however, appointed an actuary to carry out actuarial valuation and commence funding of the accrued rights.

    PenCom Acting Director-General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said  among the states, is the most outstanding as it was the first state in the federation to embrace the scheme.

    According to her, Lagos enacted the law that enabled it to start implementing the scheme in 2007.

    President Goodluck Jonathan last month awarded a gold trophy to the Lagos State Government for emerging the best state to fully adopt and implement the CPS in compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.

  • New Pension Act excites stakeholders

    New Pension Act excites stakeholders

    As the pension industry waits for the confirmation of a substantive Director-General, National Pension Commission (PENCOM), stakeholders have expressed delight with the passage and assent of the 2014 Pension Act.

    Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of UBA Pension Custodians Mr Bayo Yusuf, said he was happy with the new Act because “it addresses the concerns of the stakeholders, particularly, the employees”.

    New Act he said provides “wider coverage and the welfare of employees is enhanced and guaranteed at retirement with the new contribution rates, this is so because the benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) depend on accumulated contributions and investment returns thereon.”

    The increment from 15 per cent to 18 per cent, he said, was welcome. But of interest to him is the new sanction regime that “would minimise sharp practices and misappropriation of pension funds”.

    On the planned use of pension fund to provide infrastructure, Bayo Yusuf noted that it “would only happen through structured investment products of funds which pension funds could invest in.”

    He said there are guidelines for investing pension funds and as such, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) would only invest funds under its management after due consideration for the risk and the promised returns.

    He said: “What the representative body of all industry stakeholders (PENOPS) is therefore working on in conjunction with the regulator (PENCOM) is putting together the appropriate framework through which such funds can most appropriately be invested, having of course, the interest of the contributors as paramount. So employees should not entertain any fear.”

    When pension fund is used to finance infrastructure, Yusuf said: “There certainly should be compensation for use of funds. It is only logical to expect returns if one parts with my funds under normal, rational economic considerations. So, if an investment does not have that potential of capital repayment plus returns, no one will take a look at such product.”

    Pension funds, he said, would be available to finance bankable infrastructural projects that would be beneficial to employees while in active service and also pays a reasonable return to the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) to guarantee better payout at retirement.

  • Pension contribution now 18% of pay

    Pension contribution now 18% of pay

    Pension contributions have gone up to 18 per cent of monthly emolument – up from 15 per cent.

    Employers are to contribute 10 per cent. The remaining eight per cent will come from the employee, according to the Pension Reform Act 2014, which was signed into law yesterday by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, broke the news on his Twitter (social media page), saying the upward review will provide additional benefits  to workers Retirement Savings Accounts, thereby enhancing their monthly benefits at retirement.

    Pension contribution is shared equally at 7.5 per cent by employers and employees.

    The law, which repeals the Pension Reform Act, N0 2 of 2004, also created new offences, providing for stiffer penalties against diversion of pension funds assets. According to the Act, “operators who mismanage pension fund will be liable on conviction to not less than 10 years imprisonment or fine of an amount equal to three times the amount misappropriated  or both imprisonment and fine”.

    The Act empowers the National Pension Commission (PenCom), subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation, to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct/remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time.

    Also, as a departure from the provisions of the Pension Bill 2004, the law empowers PenCom to take proactive corrective measures on licensed operators whose actions or inaction jeopardize the safety of pension assets.

    Instructively, the new law has also reduced the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job by employees from six months to four months. This was done to identify with the yearnings of contributors and labour.

    Other changes in the law include provisions for the repositioning of the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the administration of the Defined Benefits Scheme. This will ensure that pension benefits are paid directly into pensioners’ bank accounts – in line with the current policy of the Federal Government.

    The Pension Reform Act will also enable the creation of additional permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development. Such investments, according to the new law, will be in real sector, including infrastructure and real estate development. However, there are provisions that will ensure such investments do not compromise the paramount principle of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.

    Under the law, the coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been expanded to three employees, which is in line with the drive towards informal sector participation. An employer can also be compelled to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account (TRSA) on behalf of an employee who fails to open a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) within three months of assumption of duty.

    The Pension Reform Act 2014 also consolidated earlier amendments to the 2004 Act. Among these are the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011, which exempts the personnel of the Military and the Security Agencies from the CPS. It also includes the Universities (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2012, which reviewed the retirement age and benefits of university professors. It incorporated the Third Alteration Act, which amended the 1999 Constitution by vesting jurisdiction in pension matters in the National Industrial Court (NIC).

  • PenCom urges workers, retirees to use call centres

    PenCom urges workers, retirees to use call centres

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has urged workers, retirees, beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the industry to take advantage of its Call Centres whenever they need to communicate with the Commission.

    Its Acting Director-General, Mrs. ChineloAnohu-Amazu, said the Commission embarked on some initiatives to enhance the quality of service delivery to its stakeholders.

    Prominent among these initiatives, she said, is the completion of automation of its basic internal processes.

    She said this had not only enhanced the effectiveness of these processes, but also improved the response time to customers’ complaints and enquiries.

    She stressed that the call centre was established during the last quarter of last year for prompt resolution of all complaints and enquiries on various pension issues.

    She added that service delivery standards have been established for implementation by the pension operators.

    She said: “These measures have been put in place to ensure significant improvement on the level of customer satisfaction in the services provided by the pension industry.

    “The call centre has been commissioned to provide an easy means of contacting the Commission to lodge complaints or make enquiries on issues relating to pension.The Centre operates during working days from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm”.

    Mrs. Anohu-Amazu added that trained agents will be available to answer to calls and attend to issues. Alternatively, written messages can be sent while timely responses shall be providedto complaints, she said.

  • PenCom explains new Police PFA

    PenCom explains new Police PFA

    •Says N4tr assets safe 

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has explained the rationale behind the establishment of the NPF Pensions Limited, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) recently granted an Approval-in-Principle by the Commission.

    PenCom also reiterated that the N4 trillion pension asset is safe.

    This is coming on the heels of arguments trailing the establishment of the new NPF Pensions Limited by stakeholders.

    Head, Communication Unit, Emeka Onuora, who made this known in a statement, said there is lack of understanding of the circumstances surrounding the establishment of NPF Pensions Limited.

    He said contrary to insinuations by some stakeholders that the Federal Government has granted approval to the Nigeria Police to pull out from the Contributory Pension Scheme,  the Nigeria Police Force are still under the CPS by virtue of Section 1 of the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

    He said the Whitepaper recently issued by the Federal Government on the Report of the Orasanye Committee on the Rationalisation of Federal Government Institutions, clearly indicated that the Federal Government has accepted the recommendation that, with the exception of the Military which has already been granted exemption, no Federal Government Institution, or Force should be exempted from the CPS.

    He said: “It would be recalled that following the enactment of the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011, which exempted the personnel of the Military and State Security Services from the CPS, the Nigeria Police and other agencies agitated for exemption from the Scheme.

    “However, the Federal Government decided after careful consideration of the submission made by the Nigeria Police, that the Police personnel should remain under the CPS and that the Nigeria Police Force should seek administrative solutions to the grievances of their personnel within the framework of the Scheme.

    “Accordingly, after extensive consultations with the Commission, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force decided to incorporate a limited liability company (NPF Pensions Limited) and apply to the Commission for license to operate as a Pension Fund Administrator exclusively for the Nigeria Police personnel in order to address their peculiar concerns”.

    Onuora explained that following a rigorous and thorough review of that application, the NPF Pensions Limited was found to have satisfied all the normal stringent Approval-In-Principle conditions without any concessions.

    He said the Commission consequently granted the NPF Pensions Limited an Approval-in-Principle for a license to operate as a PFA.

    “It is pertinent to note that the NPF Pensions Limited, which is incorporated as a Private Limited Liability Company, will be managed independently by professionals who must satisfy the fit and proper persons due diligence requirements and approved by the Commission in line with the Guidelines for Appointment to Board and Top Management Positions of PFAs and PFCs.

    Furthermore, although the NPF Pensions Limited will be exclusively for police personnel, every police officer will, in line with section 11(2) of the PRA 2004, be at liberty to transfer to another PFA of his/her choice as soon as the transfer window is opened by the Commission.

    “In order to ensure the smooth take-off of the NPF Pensions Limited, the Commission has developed an Operational Framework that will guide the reassignment of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and transfer of records of all Nigeria Police contributors to the NPF Pensions Limited, which would be spread over an 18 month period.”

    The Commission has engaged and would continue to engage other licensed operators and stakeholders regarding the modalities of reassignment of PINs and transfer of records of officers and men of the Nigeria Police, with a view to ensuring a smooth exercise for the benefit of the pension industry.

    Onuora noted that the issue of threat to pension assets does not arise under the Contributory Pension Scheme because the management and custody of pension assets are respectively undertaken by separate licensed operators, namely the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), under the strict supervision of the Commission.

    Accordingly, the NPF Pensions Limited will operate like any other licensed PFA where the pension assets under its management will be held in custody by licensed PFCs under the supervision of the Commission.

  • PFAs, PFCs to pay N10m fine over unprotected funds

    PFAs, PFCs to pay N10m fine over unprotected funds

    A fine of not less than N10 million will, henceforth, be paid by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) who fail to protect the funds under their management.
    This was contained in a circular titled, “Revised Regime of Sanctions and Penalties for Non-Compliance with the Provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004”, released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
    The circular stated that in line with Sect. 58 (3), external auditors of PFAs or PFCs shall have responsibility to for the protection of pension funds.
    It further added that a letter of advice will be written to an operator one month upon discovery that the pension fund is not well protected to correct the anomaly.
    PenCom said: “If two weeks after the letter of advice, nothing is done, a letter of caution, will be issued. “Thereafter, a letter of warning, and if the firm refuses to take action, a fine not less than N10 million will be slammed on the firm as monetary penalty.
    “If violation continues after monetary penalty, the Commission will proceed to naming and shaming; and if the firm failed to heed, imprisonment of a term not less than three years will be imposed on the responsible partner or principal officer.
    “In line with remittance of contribution as stated in Section 11(5B), Sect. 11(7), employers should remit employees’ contributions not later than seven working days from the day salary is paid.
    “Two weeks after default, payment of not less than two per cent of unpaid contribution should be paid to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holder(s) and in case of continuous default for one month after issuance of letter of advice, a letter of caution will be issued to the erring employer.”
    The Commission added that after one month of failure to adhere to the Letter of Caution, a letter of warning will follow and thereafter, one per cent of the outstanding payable will be paid as monetary penalty if the default persists after three month.

  • New pension bill will protect assets, says PenCom

    New pension bill will protect assets, says PenCom

    Expectation is high in the pension industry following the passage of the new pension bill by the Senate.

    Acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu said when the bill is signed into law, it will enhance the protection of pension fund assets as well as unlock the opportunities for deploying the assets for national development.

    She said it will also review the sanction regime to reflect current realities and provide for the participation of the informal sector, adding that it will provide the framework for adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme by states and local governments.

    Mrs. Anohu-Amazu who spoke with The Nation in Lagos also said in line with the joint resolution of the National Assembly to put a stop to corruption in various pension departments, the new bill will enhance the regulatory authority and efficiency of the Commission.

    This will also give the Commission opportunity to give greater oversight on, and reposition the Pension Transition Arrangement Departments (PTAD) for accountability in the administration and payment of pension under the Defined Benefit Scheme (Pay As You Go).

    With the passage of the bill by the Senate, she said the Commission is is awaiting the House of Representatives to also pass the bill.

    Last week, the Senate passed the “Pension Reform Act Cap P4 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2011 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2014 (SB.288), sponsored by Sen. Aloysius Etok.

    The Senate, after an exhaustive debate on the bill at its Committee of the whole house voted for its passage into law and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to sign it into law as soon as possible.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Aloysius Etok, spoke on the penalties for defaulters under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    Etok said the Head of Service and heads of different departments have directed all the accounting departments to make sure that whatever pension deduction made should be treated as a sacred and immediately transmitted to the receiving authority.

    The problem which PenCom has continuously encountered, according to him, is that people fail to provide genuine and credible data on themselves including their PFAs.

    He noted that there were some who have not even appointed PFAs and therefore kept deducted funds in their accounts pending when they have the data to transfer them.

    He said: “We have like buffer stock funds pending in different places. But with the enactment and passage of this bill and (when it) is assented to by the president, all the penalties and all the prescriptions contained in this Act would be followed strictly by the various agencies.

    “We have penalties ranging from 10 years imprisonment. For even failing to give proper information, you have to pay N500,000. And if you embezzle pension funds now, you will pay not less than three times the amount of funds you embezzled. That is how serious this bill has treated pension funds.

    “If you embezzle N10,000 you are bound to pay a minimum of N30,000 and in some circumstances the presiding judge has the right to make you refund and even go to prison.”

    He added that the previous pension law had some clauses and those who had embezzled pension fund before the passage of the new bill would be tried with respect to the old law.