Workers to access RSAs for mortgage soon —PenCom- by Nike Popoola

The Director-General, National Pension Commission, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said that workers in the Contributory Pension Scheme will soon begin to use part of their savings for mortgage loan.

According to a statement obtained on Sunday, she said this during a sensitisation conference for stakeholders in Enugu.

She said that the Pension Reform Act 2014 introduced a provision that allowed contributors seeking to own homes to apply for part of their Retirement Savings Account balance 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 would facilitate access to home ownership by pension contributors while bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria,” she said.

Anohu-Amazu recalled that 10 years ago, the PRA 2004 was enacted to govern the Nigerian pension reform. Arising from a comprehensive review of its implementation, she explained that the PRA 2014, which repealed the 2004 Act, was signed into law by the President on July 1, 2014.

According to her, the Pension Reform Act 2014 re-enacted the fundamental provisions of the repealed PRA 2004, which included the establishment of the Contributory Pension Scheme, uniform standards for pension administration as well as the National Pension Commission as the sole regulator and supervisor of pension matters in Nigeria.

She added that there were new developments introduced by the PRA 2014 such as the upward review of the minimum rate of pension contribution and the sanctions/penalties for infractions of the provisions of the Act.

Prior to the enactment of the PRA 2014, she said several states in the federation had adopted the CPS and were at various stages of implementation.

She said recent developments with regard to inadequate finances affecting most states of the federation were a pointer to the urgent need for states to adopt the CPS.

Anohu-Amazu said, “In our quest to assist the states in guided implementation, PenCom has established functional offices in the six geo-political zones including Awka for the South-East Zone.

“These offices have been equipped to provide the required technical assistance to states and local governments in their efforts to adopt and implement the CPS.”

Culled from Punch