Pension assets now over N4.5tn

From left: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane and  Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom) Chinelo Anohu-Amazu at the event.

·         Begins review of investment regulations

Chuks Udo Okonta

The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has accumulated a large pool of investible fund of over N4.5 trillion pension assets as at June 2014, the Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom) Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said.

She disclosed this today at the Conference on Pension Reform Act 2014 organised by the commission to sensitise stakeholders in the South West geopolitical Zone on the new provisions and developments ushered in by the PRA 2014 in Lagos.  She noted that more that 6.2 million contributors have been registered into the CPS since inception.

Anohu-Amazu appealed to States and Local governments in country that are yet to adopt the CPS to do so to enable their employees’ benefits from the scheme.

She said the Commission has established functional offices in the six geo-political zones in Nigeria and is now strategically positioned to facilitate and offer the needed technical assistance to state and local governments that their efforts to adopt and implement the CPS.

She however said that despite the achievements achieved with the PRA 2004 there is need to amend the act to suit the present situation and address the issues inherent in the PRA which necessitated the amendments of the PRA 2004.

The PenCom boss added that the amended act has provided wider coverage for private sector employee and upward review of the minimum rate of pension contribution, adding that the PRA 2014 has also reviewed upwards the sanctions and penalties against infractions of the provisions of the Act.

According to her the application of the CPS by States and Local government has also received a boost under the PRA 2014 Act 2014, by setting a standard which state government are required to comply with for the benefits of their respective employees.

The PenCom boss further said that the new amended act made provision for voluntary participation in the CPS thereby paving the way for the coverage of the informal sector.

Furthermore the PRA 2014 made provision that allows contributors seeking to own their primary homes, to apply part of their retirement savings account balance balances as equity contribution for residential mortgage, subject to the guidelines issued by the commission.

She assured that when the act is implemented the development would assist in bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria.

She noted that the commission has commenced the process of reviewing its investment regulations with a view to facilitating the investment of Pension funds in bankable infrastructure in the country.

From left: Group Chief Executive Officer, UBA Capital Plc, Oluwatoyin Sanni; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane and  Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom) Chinelo Anohu-Amazu at the event.

Group Chief Executive Officer, UBA Capital Plc, Oluwatoyin Sanni, urged Pencom to drive compliance and ensure that more channels of investing the pension funds are created.

She charged Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to integrate individual in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into the scheme.