FG to strengthen laws against pension criminals

The Sun

FROM ISAAC ANUMIHE, ABUJA

Following huge infrac­tions in the Contribu­tory Pension Scheme (CPS), the Federal Govern­ment said it is reviewing the Pension Act to strengthen penalties against criminal diversion of pension assets.

The details of the sanctions are contained in the new act, which will soon be made pub­lic.

Speaking at the Sensitisa­tion Conference on Pension Commission in Abuja, the Director General of National Pension Commission (Pen­Com), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu- Amazu, said in addition to that, the Pension Reform Act, 2014 will also review upward, the minimum rate of pension contribution. The Act will make it possible for individu­als who desire the service to participate and those who seek to own their primary homes, to apply part of their Retire­ment Savings Account (RSA) balances as equity contribu­tion for residential mortgage, subject to the guidelines is­sued by the commission.

“The process of issuing these guidelines is already at advanced stages and it is our expectation that as soon as im­plemented, this development would assist in bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria,” she said.

Anohu-Amazu noted that contributory pension scheme would soon be introduced in states and local governments. This, she said, is equally con­tained in the 2014 Act. The Act will set a standard, which the state governments are re­quired to comply with for the benefit of their employees.

“The 2014 Act has made provisions for voluntary par­ticipation in the CPS, thereby paving way for coverage of the informal sector. This is intended at extending the ben­efits of CPS to a wider horizon of labour in the Nigerian econ­omy. Another development ushered in by the PRA 2014 is that the new Act clearly outlined the responsibilities of other government institutions in the implementation of the CPS and the administration of the defunct Defined Benefits Scheme.

“Thus, public sector chal­lenges under the CPS, which were encountered during the last 10 years in the areas of remittance of pension contri­butions, funding of the retire­ment benefits bond redemp­tion fund account, duration and adequacy of monthly pen­sions for public servants, peri­odic pension review, the fund­ing of pension entitlements for professors and political office holders, are some of the issues to be addressed by relevant government agencies by vir­tue of the PRA 2014,” he said.

In his remarks, the Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Su­leiman Barau, observed that there are shortcomings in the old Act, the reason for a re­view of the Act. According to him, apart from addressing the issue of individual contribu­tors, it will also sort out the legacy issues.