N5.9tr pension funds cash well invested, says PenCom

Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Fund (CPF) rose to about N5.9 trillion as at October 31, Nigerian Pension Commission (PenCom) Director General Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said in Calabar yesterday.

She spoke at the opening session of the two-day workshop organised by the Commission for Pension/Insurance, Labour Finance reporters and Business Editors in the Cross River State capital.

She said the fund is being invested in structured and safe financial instruments, adding that it had in its record, registration of 7.2 million pension contributors; 170,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), among others.

She said these modest milestones notwithstanding, the implementation of the Pension Reform Act 2004 (PRA) was not bereft of challenges.

Her words: “We cannot overemphasize that the relative success of the implementation of the PRA 2004 could largely be attributed to the fundamental structures upon which the CPS was built. Indeed, the cardinal principle of separation of custody from management and supervision of pension funds has resulted in a pension scheme with sound internal mechanism for transparency and accountability. Whereas the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) manage the pension funds, they do not have access to same, since custody is vested in the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), while the Commission ensures both parties adhere strictly to regulations governing the pension funds.

“Indeed, some issues were noted in the course of implementation since the PRA 2004 and this underscored the imperative for a comprehensive review of the PRA in order to consolidate on the Pension Reform”.

 She said the re-enactment of the PRA in July 2014 provided a sound basis to guide the second decade of the Nigerian Pension Reform. The PRA 2014 sought to ensure that more tangible benefits accrue to retirees towards a more blissful retirement.

 “As we seek to increase registered pension contributors to at least 20 million by the year 2019, informal sector participation through the Micro Pension Plan is expected to provide impetus. The Commission has also enhanced its support to the States in facilitating their adoption and implementation of the CPS by providing a bespoke technical assistance, through our State Operations Department and Zonal Offices in each of the 6 geo-political Zones,” she said.

The Commission’s Secretary and Legal Adviser, Mohammad Mohammad, said the Federal Government had yet to implement the 18 per cent monthly pension contribution, despite its increase from 15 per cent by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

Only a few private sector firms are contributing 18 per cent,  he added. .

He said the commission had engaged the Federal Government in making sure that sufficient funds were included in the next budget to avoid accumulation.

He said the commission had engaged all the relevant authorities such as the National Assembly to make sure that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible.

Source The Nation