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Tag: PenCom

  • Senate confirms Mu’azu, Chinelo as PENCOM chairman, commissioner

    Senate confirms Mu’azu, Chinelo as PENCOM chairman, commissioner

    The Senate yesterday confirmed the appointment of former Governor Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State as Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    The Chairman of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Aloysius Etok (PDP-Akwa Ibom) confirmed this to The Nation.

    He said the commisson’s Acting Director-General, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (Southeast) was also named as full time commissioner with three others.

    President Goodluck Jonathan on November 20, sent a letter to the Senate requesting the confirmation of the nominees.

    Jonathan said in the letter that the nomination followed the expiration of the tenure of the commission’s director-general and commissioners.

    He said it is also in accordance with Section 16 (3) and 17 (1) of Pension Reform Act.

    The three commissioners are Mr Omotowa Gilbert (Northcentral), Mr Mohammed Abubakar (Northwest) and Mr Adesojo Olaoba-Efuntayo (Southwest).

    Senator Etok said the committee found Mu’azu and the four other nominees qualified.

    Senator Ahmed Lawan (APC-Yobe), however, noted that one of the nominees for full time commissioner, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, was currently the acting Director-General.

    He said with her appointment as full time commissioner, there would be a vacuum in the commission and urged that the substantive Director-General should be appointed expeditiously to allow PENCOM perform optimally.

    Senate President David Mark urged the appointees to perform above board as their personal integrity was at stake.

    “I am sure that they are all very conscious of the fact that these are important commissions and they must be above board at all times.

    “They must do justice and prove us right and prove to the nation that we have not made any mistake by confirming them.

    “Pensioners continue to go through a lot of hardship in this country and I hope that they will put more effort all the time to make sure that this hardship is reduced to the barest minimum,” Mark said.

    Mark said that the observation by Ake was valid, adding that the Senate would mention it in its letter to the president.

  • PenCom heightens supervision on Old Pension Scheme

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is refocusing greater attention on the Old Defined Benefit Scheme of the public service to stem its inefficiencies, the Acting Director-General of tMrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said.

    This, the PenCom boss said, would be carried out through the Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD).

    Mrs. Anohu-Amazu, who made this known at the opening of the Northwest zonal office of PenCom in Kano, said the office was opened as part of the Commission’s continued determination to decentralise its activities and bring it closer to the contributors and retirees.

    She said the mandate of the office is to extend the Commission’s services to the seven states in the zone, namely, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kastina, Sokoto and Zamfara states, adding that four zonal offices located in Calabar, Awka, Lagos and Ilorin had earlier been opened. She said the Northeast zonal office in Gombe has been established and would be inaugurated soon.

    She said: “The establishment of zonal offices in the six geo-political zones of the country is a deliberate attempt to encourage and facilitate compliance with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    “We expect the states in the Northwest zone to renew their commitment by ensuring the speedy implementation of the CPS in order not to shut out their citizens from the benefits of a hassle-free retirement”.

    She appealed to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to spearhead the compliance of the states in the Northwest zone with the CPS.

    Kwankwaso while declaring the office open, expressed delight at the siting of the Northwest zonal office in Kano. He assured the Commission of the state government’s support in its pension reform activities and promised to re-examine the status of the state in terms of the CPS such that they can fully embrace the scheme.

    In a message, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the apex bank has been collaborating with PenCom for the success of the pension reforms, noting that the reforms guarantee a secured future for workers.

    He pointed out that the industry has generated funds that could be invested in infrastructure.

    Senate Committee Chairman on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Dr. Alloysius Etok, advised the Commission to ensure that only the states that key into the scheme benefit from its funds.

    He assured the Commission and the industry that National Assembly would soon pass the Pension Reform Bill 2013 to enable the Commission work more effectively.

    The House Committee’s Deputy Chairman on Pensions, Mr. Samson Okwu, commended the Commission for opening zonal offices in the country thereby bringing its activities closer to people.

    He also assured the industry that the National Assembly would make laws that would empower the Commission to make workers’ retirement pleasant.

    President of the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Misbahu Yola, who pledged the operators’ continued subscription to the rules and regulations of the industry, urged the states to embrace the Scheme as this would give them the opportunity to access pension funds for infrastructural developments.

    Others who delivered goodwill messages, were the Vice-President, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Issa Aremu, represented by Mrs. Fumi Elesho; Trade Union Congress (TUC) represented by Musa Lawal, President, National Union of Pensioners, Dr. Abel Afolayan, and representatives of the governors of Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states.

  • Pension-for-infrastructure

    Pension-for-infrastructure

    Pensioners have cause to worry about how govt wants their money spent

    IS the Federal Government henceforth ready to treat pension matters with the importance it deserves? We consider the question pertinent in view of the reported plan by government to invest accumulated pension funds worth about N3.72 trillion domiciled with the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on infrastructure development. Although at a glance, the decision is commendable, we strongly believe that the apprehension exhibited by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) over the idea is equally explicable in a clime where public/pension funds avoidably get cluttered.

    NUP president, Dr. Abel Afolayan, at a function in Abuja reaffirmed the union’s knowledge of government’s plan to invest pension funds on infrastructure such as roads, health care, transport, housing, power, gas, agriculture and water resources, but cautioned: “We want to make it clear that the union is not totally opposed to the idea of investing the funds which in the first place is meant to yield returns on investment and thereby boost the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) of future retirees but suffice to say that our fear is premised on the ability of our government to provide sufficient protection for the safety of the funds to be invested.”

    The sectors slated to benefit from the funds disbursement in the form of loan are very key if any meaningful infrastructural development must be achieved in the country. These sectors are indeed ailing and begging for attention. But NUP’s well thought-out admonition is very salient because of adverse precedents whereby government officials stole pension funds without any serious consequences. So, it is not out of place to be sceptical about government’s ability to secure the funds that have accumulated from workers’ toils. It is sad that successive administrations have failed to deploy transparency and accountability in handling pension funds. Where is investment accountability if pension funds for this infrastructural upgrade must yield the desired result in the end?

    The government at this point should come out with details of the policy so that mounting public qualms can be doused. The machineries should be set in motion for government officials to quickly meet with relevant stakeholders, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that is the umbrella body of workers in the country, PenCom (the regulatory body of pension affairs) and the pension administrators (the custodians of pensions), among others, for their inputs. We demand to know whether private companies or individuals can access the loans or whether only specialised banks or maybe those restrictive banks in concert with commercial banks will access the loans. We also want the government to avail the stakeholders the current state of affairs of these banks.

    Pension money is long-term and this would definitely avail the banks that are used to granting short-term facility the opportunity of yielding ground to long-term loans with its potential moderating effect on interest rate. Usually, short-term facility attracts higher interest rate and this is one vital area where pension funds will be of immense benefit to this investment initiative that would put more money in circulation.

    All said, this policy initiative is an invaluable opportunity for the Federal Government to redeem its abysmal image because of its largely negligent handling of state financial issues – a typical example is the sloppy management of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). This latest idea must not fail because the lifetime savings of Nigerian workers are involved. Nigerian workers’ sweat should not be seen by politicians in power and their collaborators as another national cake.

     

  • CPS: Pencom generates N3.73tr

    CPS: Pencom generates N3.73tr

    NATIONAL Pension Commission’s (PenCom) N3.73 trillion assets generated under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and registration of over 5.8 million members have deepened the financial sector, its Acting Director-General, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.

    Mrs Anohu-Amazu, who spoke while showcasing the success of the CPS introduced in 2004 to delegates from 40 countries at the World Pension Summit in Amsterdam, Netherlands, said the assets have grown from a deficit of N2.6 trillion prior to its inception in 2004 to N3.73 trillion in the nine years of the existence of the Scheme.

    She told the delegates that the CPS is sustainable, funded and privately managed by operators licensed by PenCom, adding that the legal and institutional frameworks established by the Commission which are responsible for the success so far recorded, have also provided a platform for the provision of infrastructure and the development of the real sector, thereby reinforcing the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    The World Pension Summit is a yearly event dedicated to on-going advanced learning for senior pension professionals. It also offers comparative analysis of pension experiences in participating countries, as well as provide insight into the impact of emerging trends on pension arrangements and ample room for peer-to-peer discussion among delegates.

    It brought together over 350 professionals, experts and key authorities in the field of retirement solutions management with specific focus on pension fund strategies, social security and employee benefits.

    The theme of the summit centered on pension investment, risk management, pillars for pension scheme administration, communication and information management and strategies for stimulating growth in pension portfolios.

    The Acting DG led a delegation comprising Mrs. Grace Usoro, the General Manager/Head Public Sector Pensions Department and Ms. Olusola Odufuwa, Head Corporate Counselling Unit of the PenCom.

    Other speakers included Prof Zhen Li, Director of the Institute for Social Security Study, School of Public Administration, China Renmin University; Yves Leterme, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Paris, William De Vijlder, Vice – Chairman of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Brussels.

    Others were Gerard Riemen, Managing Director, Federation of the Dutch Pension Funds, the Hague, Gareth Gibbins, Steve Webb, Minister of State for Pensions, United Kingdom, Elsa Fornero, former Minister of Labour, Social Policies and Equal Opportunities, Italy, Nancy Heller, Senior Managing Director, Globalisation, TIAA-CREF of the United States and AnnamariaLusardi, Academic Director, Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre.

  • Jonathan picks ex- governor Mu’azu as PenCom boss

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday forwarded the name of former Governor of Bauchi State, Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, to the Senate for confirmation as Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    Jonathan also forwarded the name of M’fon Akpan for conformation as Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    The two letters were read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President, David Mark.

    Apart from Mu’azu, Jonathan also sent the names of Chinelo O. Anohu-Amazu (South East), Omotowa Reuben Gilbert (North Central), Mohammed Ka’oje Abubakar (North West) and Adesojo O. Olaoba-Efuntayo (South West) for conformation as full-time commissioners of the Pension Commission.

    The President noted in a letter entitled: “Appointment of the Chairman and full-time commissioners for the National Pension Commission,” that Section 16(1) of the Pension Reform Act, provides that the Commission shall comprise a part-time Chairman, a Director-General, four Commissioners and seven part-time members.”

    Jonathan said that Section 16(3) of the Act also provides that appointment of the Chairman, Director-General and other members of the commission other than ex-officio members shall be made by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

    The President noted that following the expiration of the tenure of the Chairman, DG and the Commissioners of the commission, he decided to nominate those listed for confirmation in line with the provisions of Sections 16(3) and 17(1) of the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

    For the Chairman of IRS, Jonathan noted that it is pursuant to the provision of Section 11a of the Federal Inland Revenue (Establishment) Act, 2007, which stipulates that “the Executive Chairman shall be appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

    Jonathan said that it was in line with the Section that he wrote to forward the name of M’fon Akpan for consideration as Executive Chairman of the FIRS.

     

  • The Pension Reform Bill 2013

    An African adage aptly captures the essence of a viable pension scheme when it states that the firewood one fetches during the dry season helps him or her to keep warm during the rainy season. Therefore, pension has remained a key governance issue as governments around the world seek better ways to cater for the welfare of workers who have retired due to old age, attainment of mandatory years of service, downsize of workforce, injury or sickness.

    Whereas Nigeria’s pension system worked for a while, soaring pension bills, corruption, and maladministration in the old pension system resulted in irregular and, in many cases, non-payment of pensions. This in turn brought untold hardship on pensioners, as the awful state of pensioners became a perennial national embarrassment.

    It was for this reason that the Federal Government undertook a thorough overhaul of the pension system, resulting in the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    However, much as the reforms literally transformed the nation’s pension system, especially as it concerns Federal Government employees and the organised private sector, the operation of the Pension Reform Act 2004 in the last nine years has also exposed several loopholes and concerns, which must be addressed. It was for this reason that the Jonathan administration must be commended for proposing the Pension Reform Bill 2013 to the National Assembly.

    The cardinal objectives of the Pension Reform Bill, which has reached advanced stage at the federal legislature, are to enhance the powers of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) in its regulatory and enforcement activities to protect pension funds and assets, and unlock the opportunities for the utilization of pension assets for national development. Others are to review the sanctions regime to reflect current realities, provide for the participation of the informal sector and also provide the framework for the adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme by states and local governments.

    Importantly, the Bill provides for the proper establishment of the Pension Transition Arrangement Departments (PTADs) to take over the remittance of benefits to pensioners. It will ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the administration and payment of pensions under the Defined Benefits Scheme, as pensioners under the old scheme will now receive their pensions directly rather than through third parties. This will bring the era of impunity and corruption in the various Pension Departments to an end and enhance the regulatory authority and efficiency of PENCOM to reposition and provide greater oversight on the PTADs.

    Other major highlights of the proposed law include the reduction of the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job from six months to four months, creation of new offences and provisions for stiffer penalties that will serve as deterrence against the mismanagement or diversion of pension funds and assets under any guise or the infractions on pension law. It also addresses challenges and ambiguities relating to Death Benefits.

    Very importantly, the Bill seeks amendment to allow for the payment of additional benefits, other than the accruals from the Contributory Pension, to workers upon retirement or cessation of employment through collective bargaining with their employers. This will further cushion the effects of non-payment of gratuity under the current pension regime.

    It further seeks to raise pension contribution from 15 per cent where both employer and employee make an economically disproportional contribution of 7.5 percent each to 20 percent contribution with a more proportional minimum of 12 percent contribution by employer and eight percent by the employee. This translates to more savings for the workers.

    The Bill also seeks to emphasize competence instead of the current requirement of a minimum of 20 years cognate experience to qualify for appointment as the Director-General of PENCOM. There has been preponderance of view among critical stakeholders, including the labour, the Association of University Pensioners, the Nigeria Stock Exchange, the Pension Departments, the National Association of Nigerian Students, the Customs Immigration and Prisons Pension Office, that the 20 years experience requirement is out of sync with realities and best practices in financial regulatory institutions both locally and globally. For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is the apex financial regulatory institution and economic powerhouse of the nation does not demand any years of experience for appointment as the Governor or Deputy Governor of the CBN. The same applies to headship of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Furthermore, the extant laws establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) require between 10 to 15 years experience only for membership or headship of the institutions, as the case may be. The laws rather talks about competence.

    Stakeholders at the Public Hearing on the Pension Bill were also quick to point out that were lengthy years of experience that important, those standing trial over alleged monumental corruption in the various Pension Departments would not have been populated by highly placed civil servants of over 20 years experience. They insist that removing such draconian years of experience would make way for persons with substantial cognate experience, integrity, competence, and energy to pilot the affairs of PENCOM and pensioners.

    Indeed, when all is considered, the Pension Reform Bill 2013 stands out as a courageous and well-informed step on the part of the present administration to address the challenges facing the nation’s pension system. The National Assembly also deserves commendation for its commitment and zeal to this cause, especially given the enormity and thoroughness of work invested by its Joint Committee on Pension Reform Bill into the Report on the Bill recently laid before both chambers of the apex legislature. Nigerians therefore expect the federal lawmakers to give the bill a speedy final push and to also be guided by patriotism, national interest, and global best practices in doing so. This is a national imperative.

     

    • Anichukwu, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Abuja.

  • CPS: Southeast reluctance worries Pencom

    CPS: Southeast reluctance worries Pencom

    The acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs.ChineloAnohu-Amazu, has expressed concern at the lack of interest of the zone in adopting and implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for their workers.

    Mrs.Anohu-Amazu, stated her discontent at the unveiling of the South-East Zonal Office in Awka, Anambra State by the Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi.

    She said Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu were yet to enact the law expected to regulate the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), explaining that Imo State which has enacted its law on CPS in 2008, and had appointed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to register its employees, has suspended the implementation of the Scheme.

    She stated further thatAnambra State on its part only recently enacted its law on the Scheme and is still expected to carry out the necessary steps, like setting up administrative structure, appointment of PFAs, registration of employees by the PFAs, remittance of pension contributions and determination of accrued pension liabilities of workers, among others.

    She was appalled that the South-East Zone, known to be highly industrious and possessing enterprising intellectuals, was yet to take its rightful place in the adoption and implementation of the CPS.

    She said PenCom’s aim of establishing zonal offices in the six geo-political zones of the country, is to bring its activities closer to the contributors and retirees.

    “With the Commission’s presence in the South-East Zone, stakeholders in the pension industry can now avail themselves of the services of the Commission by visiting the zonal office to make enquiries, lodge complaints, and seek education to the CPS and request for sensitisation and awareness on pension and pension related matters.

    She said due to the Commission’s renewed focus on efficient service, it seeks to reduce the need for contributors and retirees to travel from various parts of the country to Abuja for the singular reason of accessing the commission’s services, adding that the presence of the Commission will facilitate closer interaction with the states’ pension offices by assisting them to comply with the CPS”.

    Mrs.Anohu-Amazu noted that the Anambra office is the fourth to be formally opened among the Commission’s Zonal Offices in the six geo-political zones of the country.

    Three zonal offices had earlier been commissioned at Calabar for the South-South States, Ilorin for the North-Central States and Lagos for the South-West States.

  • PenCom: N9.6b not remitted into workers’ account

    About N9.6 billion has not been remitted into the workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said.

    In a statement, it said: “The compliance report showed some inconsistencies on the part of Pension Fund Administrators, which included un-reconciled and un-credited contributions that amounted to N8.367 billion and N1.29 billion.”

    The commission also said it discovered about 146 cases of unpaid benefits that had earlier been approved by the commission and wrongful debit of N39million on some RSAs by a Pension Fund Custodian.

    It, however, said it had forwarded compliance letters to the concerned operators on the listed inconsistencies.

    Other issues, according to the statement, include non-implementation of commitments made during examinations of operators; violation of the Pension Reform Act, 2004; violation of regulations, guidelines, circulars, and framework; and non-issuance of statements of account and Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) to customers by some operators.

    According to PenCom, the need to ensure the safety of pension assets, fair returns on investment and sustainability of the industry necessitated the need to proactively regulate and supervise the pension industry in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the PRA 2004.

    It stated that the supervisory approach rested on risk-based philosophy to cope with the challenges posed by the dynamics of the operating environment.

    On risk management among the pension operators, PenCom said during the third quarter of 2012, it observed some irregularities in the risk management reports submitted by operators.

    These included unprocessed benefit applications and un-credited contributions by a PFC; discrepancies between contribution schedules and the payment instruments forwarded by some employers; delay in the payment of retirees’benefits and non-compliance with the fund accounting guidelines by some operators. Another challenge was in the area of information communication technology (ICT) in core application software, servers and other support equipment.

    Consequently, it said, letters had been sent to the affected operators to address the issues.

    PenCom also observed the violation of the code of corporate governance for pension fund operators as issued by the commission.

     

     

     

  • PENCOM proposes 20% review of pension contributions

    • Wants 20 years’ experience for DG removed

    The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) has proposed a review of the minimum rate of pension contributions from 15 per cent to 20 per cent.

    It stated this in a memo to the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and House Committee on Pension for an Act to Repeal the 2004 Pension Reform Act (PRA) and Enact PRA 2013.

    PENCOM said: “Stakeholders have observed that the minimum pension contribution of 15 per cent of employee’s monthly emolument is not adequate enough to generate the required retirement benefits for the worker.

    “The equality of the 7.5 per cent rate of contribution payable by both the employer and the employee is not equitable especially because the employer has a stronger financial muscle.”

    As a result, the commission proposed in the PRA 2013 Bill “an upward review of the rate of contribution and the proportion of the rate payable by the employer and the employee. The proposed minimum rate is 20 per cent of the monthly emolument: 12 per cent by the employer and 8 per cent by the employee.”

    However, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) punctured PENCOM’s argument on the review.

    “The 15 per cent contribution has not been fully complied with by both the private and public sectors. What PENCOM should do is to make sure that it enforces the inclusion of the private and public sectors to build a critical mass for the contribution,” the PFA said.

    According to him, the capture of more contributors from the private and public sectors at 15 per cent into the scheme will lead to availability of more funds to pay retirees rather than pursuing an increase without any guarantees for enhanced compliance.

    PENCOM added in the memo: “Provisions have been inserted in the Bill such that the sphere of permissible investment instruments would be expanded to accommodate initiatives for national development, such as investment in the real sector, including infrastructure and housing development while at the same time ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.”

    The reason for its input, the commission said, was because “there is a consensus among stakeholders that the PRA should facilitate the optimal utilisation of pool of funds generated by the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) towards national development.”

    Another proposal by PENCOM was for the reduction in the number of years a prospective director-general (DG) and commissioners of the commission should have.

    PENCOM said it “is graduated in descending order from that of the chairman at 20 years to that of the director-general at 15 years.”

    The bill also stipulates 15 years’experience for commissioners, who act for the DG. There is no such requirement for a commissioner under the PRA 2004. PENCOM hinged its position on what it called “specifying a minimum of 15 years experience for the director-general of the Commission and the commissioners seeks to fortify the standard and streamline it with the requirements in other government institutions in the financial services industry.”

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007 and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Act 2006 showed that no qualifying years of experience is stipulated for appointment as CBN governor and deputy governors and managing director and executive directors of the two institutions.

    PENCOM added: “Section 3(2) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 stipulates 15 years’ experience for the director-general and 12 years’ experiencee for the executive directors of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    ‘’Section 10(2) of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Act 1997 also stipulates 15 years’ experience for appointment as commissioner of Insurance.” The Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990 stipulates 10 years experience for appointment as Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    “The National Assembly should de-emphasis the issue of qualifying years of experience and adopt the model of the CBN Act where no requirement of specific years of post-qualification experience is stipulated by the CBN Act. This is the position that is consistent with global best practice which emphasises competency rather than years of post-qualification experience, which does not necessarily translate into capacity and capability.”

    Due to complaints received mainly from the labour unions, PENCOM has proposed that the PRA 2013 reduce the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job from six months to four months.

    The PRA 2013 Bill also seeks to prohibit members of the board of PenCom or their related parties from owning shares in operator companies. This is in order to remove conflict of interest situations and entrench the principles of good corporate governance.

  • Private sector leads in pension contributions

    Private sector leads in pension contributions

    The private sector has surpassed the public sector in pension contributions, FBN Capital report has shown.

    It indicated that the private sector contributes about 60 per cent of the N3.4 trillion pension assets under the management of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

    The research firm said data released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) showed that as at end of March, this year (when pension assets were N3 trillion), the private sector contributed N1.8 trillion to the scheme. Also, the public sector’s contribution from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal and some state governments, was N1.2 trillion. This, it said, was a marked change from its composition in 2004 when the Act kicked off.

    FBN Capital said the increase to N3.4 trillion as at the end of May was largely due to the filing in of 12 states into the contributory pension scheme, although only six states had collected and remitted contributions in compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.

    It said the number of registered contributors has grown to 5.5 million with an average monthly contribution of N30 billion.

    “Given that only seven per cent of the nation’s 80 million workforce has joined the scheme, there exists a huge potential for growth in the coming years,” it said.