PenCom

Abuja, Feb. 20, 2024: The National PenCom Commission (PenCom) has recovered N12.93 billion unremitted contributions, imposed N12.52 billion fines on defaulters, which resulted to a total sum of N25.45 billion.

PenCom Head, Corporate Communications Department, Mr Ibrahim Buwai, who disclosed the figures at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), in Abuja.

He said under the Pension Reforms Act, which remained the provision for enforcement, late remittances attract penalties and interest of two per cent monthly.

“ All recoveries go directly into the affected Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) holders. Nobody takes a penny, not Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), not PenCom, nobody. All these money recovered are for the RSA holders and it goes into RSA.

“If you do that two per cent for every month that you default, a penalty for that amount will be computed.

“That is why when you look at our latest figure in terms of the recovery, from the inception of the exercise in 2012, you will see that the difference between the remittances and the penalty is almost neck to neck,” Buwai said.

Ikeja, Dec. 9, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) recovered N24.8 billion of funds unremitted by employers in the third quarter of 2023.

Mr Oguche Agudah, Chief Executive Officer of Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) made the declaration on Friday in Lagos.

He spoke at a media parley with the theme: “At the dawn of 20 years of pension reform, what are the gains’’?

Agudah said PenCom recovered N23.3 billion of such funds in the third quarter of 2022, while it recovered N2.23 billion in the third quarter of 2021.

He said also that the pensions industry recorded an Asset under Management of N17.35 trillion in the second quarter of 2023.

It made investments of N349.97 billion in infrastructure in the second quarter of 2023, up from the N333.02 billion invested in the corresponding quarter of 2022, Agudah added.

Investments in infrastructure, he also said, represented 2.02 per cent of total investments made in the second quarter of 2023.

Agudah said the industry also invested N1.54 trillion in the equities market in the third quarter of 2023.

This, he explained, represented 8.88 per cent of total investments, as against the N964.84 billion invested in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

He said the pension industry would focus more on micro-pensions and revise its investment guidelines in 2024 when it celebrates the 20th year of pension reforms.

In his remarks, Mr Lanre Idris, Head, Media Committee, PenOp, noted that the pensions industry had recorded enormous transformation and progress in the last 20 years of reforms.

He stressed that the collective efforts of stakeholders had changed the face of the industry through reforms and evolution of ideas.

Abuja, Oct. 13, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has reiterated its commitment towards the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) through existing regulations, guidelines and the development of new ones.

The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, made the commitment in Abuja on Thursday, during a one-day interactive session with

the Organised Private Sector (OPS) on the current development and challenges in the implementation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

Dahir-Umar, who was represented by the PenCom Commissioner of Administration, Dr Umar Aminu, said that the objectives of the interactive session were to enlightening the OPS on the workings of the CPS.

She said they would be sharing thoughts on emerging developments in the Nigerian pension space by providing an opportunity for the pension operators to interact with the members of the OPS.

“ The commission has continued to take giant strides towards ensuring the smooth implementation of the CPS through the revision of existing regulations and guidelines as well as the development of new ones.

“ Specifically, the commission deployed the Enhanced Contributors Registration System (ECRS) for the pension industry.

“ Following the deployment of the ECRS, the commission also introduced the Data Recapture Exercise (DRE), which mandatorily requires all Retirement Savings Account (RSA)  holders who joined the CPS prior to the 1st of July 2019 to update their information with their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

“ Accordingly, the commission has consistently urged RSA holders to approach their PFAs for data recapture,” Dahir-Umar said.

 She ssaid that  in order to facilitate the implementation of Section 13 of the PRA 2014 which allows an RSA holder to transfer his/her RSA from one PFA to another at least once in a year, PenCom developed and deployed the RSA Transfer System (RTS) in 2020.

“The RTS is a computer-based application for initiating, processing and monitoring the RSA transfer process. RSA transfer window has continued to improve the quality of service delivery by the PFAs.

“Again, in order to ensure that RSA holders own a house during their work life, the commission has released the guidelines on accessing RSA balance towards payment of equity contribution for residential mortgage by RSA holders,” Dahir-Umar.

She said that the pension industry was one of the fastest-growing financial sectors in the country.

According to her, as at the end of the third quarter of 2023, the number of RSAs under the CPS stood at 10 million, while the size of the pension Asset Under Management amounted to N16.76 trillion.

Dahir-Umar commended the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) for offering its platform for continuous social dialogue with the members of the OPS on the implementation of the CPS in the country.

The Director-General, NECA, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said that the PRA 2014 had changed the narrative significantly.

Oyerinde, however, said, “No matter the efforts put into a system or process, there would always be room for improvement.

“Thus, following the enactment of the Act and with successive PenCom leadership, we have had series of improvements and innovation in the administration of the pension scheme.

“ For many of us that have been around for a while, you will agree with us that the circumstantial suspension of this interactive session few years ago has created a gap.

“It has also deprived not only the private sector but also PenCom the opportunity to get critical feedback that will help in further improving the operationalization and administration of the Pension Scheme.

“ We are, however, glad that we are back to this engagement, not only in Lagos but also in four other zones; Abuja, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Enugu.

NECA is the umbrella organisation of all organisations in the OPS of Nigeria.

It was formed in 1957 to be the voice of businesses and a bridge between organised businesses and the government.

Lagos, Oct. 6, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says N10.2 billion have been transferred into the Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) of 142,486 Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Scheme contributors from 2014 to date.

Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, Director-General, PenCom, revealed this at an interactive session, organised by PenCom and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative

Association (NECA) on CPS for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in Lagos.

Dahir-Umar, represented by Dr Anyim Nyerere, Commissioner for Technical,

PenCom, said this was in compliance with the commission’s responsibility of supervising the transfer, following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

“In order to ensure that all contributors under the NSITF scheme have their NSITF contributions transferred to their RSAs, the commission had severally featured advertorials requesting NSITF contributors to apply for the transfer of their contributions.

“PenCom wishes to implore all employers to encourage their employees, who have contributed to the NSITF scheme, to liaise with their PFAs and in particular Trustfund Pensions for guidance on how to have their contributions transferred to their RSAs,” she said.

According to her, the number of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as at the end of third quarter 2023, stood at 10 million.

Dahir-Umar said that the size of the pension Asset Under Management(AUM) amounted to N16.76 trillion in the period under review.

She noted that, accordingly, the contributions of the OPS in this regard could not be overemphasised.

According to her, the interactive session was organised to unfold new developments and tackle challenges facing the pension scheme in the country.

The director-general said that the programme was initiated to enlighten OPS on the current developments and challenges in the implementation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

“Obviously the pension industry is one of the fastest-growing financial sectors in Nigeria.

“This programme was put in place to enlighten the organised private sector on the new developments and resolve some of the challenges facing the sector.

“The objective of the interactive session is to enlighten the OPS on the workings of the CPS and share thoughts on emerging developments in the Nigerian pension space,” she said

Dahir-Umar said that the commission had continued to take giant strides towards ensuring the smooth implementation of the CPS through the revision of existing regulations, guidelines and the development of new ones.

She said that PenCom had deployed the Enhanced Contributors Registration System (ECRS) and Data Recapture Exercise (DRE).

The director-general stated that this mandatorily requires all RSA holders, who joined the CPS prior to July 1, 2019, to update their information with their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

She charged RSA holders who are yet to approach their PFAs for data recapture to do so.

She assured the OPS that the commission would continue to ensure robust social dialogue with NECA in the interest of all stakeholders under the CPS.

According to her, the commission will always support NECA to champion programmes that will ensure the successful implementation of the CPS in Nigeria.

Commenting, Mr Bala Babangida, Head, Department of Compliance and Enforcement, PenCom, said that compliance in the industry includes opening of RSA with a PFA by employees.

Babangide added that employers must also ensure monthly deduction and remittance of pension contributions

and provision of Group Life insurance policy for their employees

Mr Obiora Ibeziako, Head, Department of Benefit and Investment, PenCom, listed the basic objectives of pension investments to include safety liquidity and fair return.

Ibeziako added that the general principles of the pension scheme involved consultation, prudent, effective surveillance and regulatory.

In his remark, Director-General, NECA, Mr Adewale Oyerinde, said that the deliberation would give rooms for more improvement and development in the pension sector.

“There is always a room for improvement and this is one of the area of development.

“I am sure that this interactive session would pave way to improving further the pension scheme,” Oyerinde said.

Abuja, Sept. 1, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has urged employers and companies seeking to obtain pension clearance certificates to stop using touts and agents.

The Head, Corporate Communications of PenCom, Mr Abdulqadir Dahiru, said this in a statement  he made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

He added: “ The use of touts and agents to obtain pension clearance certificate is illegal and contrary to the provisions of section 104 (b) and (c) of the Pension Reform Act 2014.

“Issuance of certificate is free of charge, the application process is also very easy and transparent, the commission strongly advises employers to deal directly with it on matters relating to applications for issuance of pension clearance certificate.”

Dahiru said that that employers wishing to obtain such certificates were required to forward their applications together with the some required documents.

They include:“ Certified list of employees of the organisation as at the end of the last fiscal year, the certification should be done with an authorised official of the applicant organisation.

“ Certified rate of monthly pension contributions, specifying employer and employee rates.

“The rates relating to the monthly emoluments are minimum of ten per cent by the employer and minimum of eight per cent by the employee.

“Evidence of remittance of monthly pension contributions for all employees as follows, for the last three fiscal years for organisations that were in existence for that period.

“Have three or more staffers, for organisations that have not been in existence for the last three fiscal years, from the date of

incorporation/registration/licensing to the last fiscal year.”

According to Dahiru, such documents also include an evidence of remittance of all outstanding pension contributions and penalties for late remittance.

“Evidence of transfer of pension fund and assets held prior to the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to a licensed pension fund operator.

“This is only applicable to organisations that had pension arrangements or were in custody of pension assets before June 2004.

““Evidence of current Group Life Insurance Policy procured for the staff of the organisation specifying the number of lives and sum assured,” Dahiru said.

He said that all applicants were to note, “it takes seven working days for the commission to process applications submitted with full documentation.”

Dahiru said that the application was currently in the process of automation, adding ” until this is completed, certificates of compliance can be picked up at the offices where applications were submitted.”

He said that the applications can be submitted at the commission or any of its six geopolitical zones.

Also, applicants can track their applications by visiting the commission’s website where the list of organisations issued clearance certificates is updated daily.

Abuja, July 31, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has described as false, allegations of financial impropriety against its Director General, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar.

A statement by Head of Corporate Communications of PenCom, Mr Abdulqadir Dahiru said the clarification was in response to a newspaper publication alleging financial impropriety against the D-G through inflated travel costs in 2020.

According to statement, this poor attempt at calumny is exposed by the fact that there was a global lockdown in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic during which international travels were restricted.

“It is, thus, most outlandish to suggest that any government agency would claim to be paying allowances to its officials for international travels when most airports were shut down globally.

“Official foreign trips require strict documentation, including air tickets, stamped passport pages and evidence of number of days spent. Rates for estacodes are standardised,” the statement said.

The statement noted that if the D-G were to spend two years abroad without returning to the country for one day, it would still be impossible for her to claim a million dollars as estacode.

“The desperate fabricators need to respect the intelligence of Nigerians.

“ We are aware of current political intrigues in the country caused by the jostling for appointments.

“But we believe there are more decent ways of going about it than peddling tales falsehood and using online outlets to push the lies to unsuspecting readers.

“ The public is implored to ignore these fake documents and the discredited allegations being recycled at the slightest opportunity.

“The commission has nothing to hide and will continue to run a transparent and accountable system,” the statement added.

Lagos, May 18, 2023: The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has recovered about N24.53 billion as pension contributions owed workers by defaulting employers.

The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, made the disclosure on Thursday in Lagos at the 2023 Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) Workshop.

She was represented by the Head of Corporate Communications of PenCom, Mr Abdulqadir Dahiru.

The workshop had the theme: “Securing the Future: The Benefits of the Contributory Pension Scheme to Nigerian Workers”.

Dahir-Umar said that the amount was recovered from June 2012 to March 31, 2023.

According to her, of the recovered sum, N12.44 billion is actual pension contribution while N12.09 billion is penalty.

She said that during the first quarter of 2023, N384.28 million (comprising N193.06 million contributions and N191.22 million penalties) was recovered from 34 defaulting employers.

According to her, PenCom is committed to protecting workers’ interests and ensuring that employers pay pension contributions as and when due.

Dahiru-Umar added that PenCom was determined to ensure that Nigerian workers would receive their retirement benefits in time.

She said that the commission’s meticulous regulation and supervision of the pension industry had ensured that pension assets and the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) membership continued to grow.

According to her, the value of pension assets stood at N15.58 trillion as at March 31, while CPS membership was 9.95 million.

She noted that in 2022, PenCom launched a policy allowing Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders to utilise a portion of their retirement savings as equity for mortgages.

She said that the policy marked a significant milestone in the commission’s ongoing efforts to provide greater flexibility and access to pension funds for the benefit of RSA holders.

“We recognise that many individuals face challenges in securing adequate housing upon retirement, and we aim to address this issue by unlocking the value of their pension savings to facilitate homeownership.

“Under this new policy, RSA holders who have contributed to their accounts for at least five years and met specific eligibility criteria can utilise up to 25 per cent of their pension savings as equity contribution towards acquiring residential properties.

“This policy aligns with our commitment to ensuring that pension funds catalyse economic development and social well-being,” she said.

Dahiru-Umar added that RSA holders could access 25 per cent of their RSA balance to cushion the effect of job loss if they could not secure another employment after four months of job loss.

She said that the partial withdrawal from RSA was to offer immediate support during a difficult period.

According to her, the remaining balance in the RSA will continue to grow and accumulate until the RSA holder attains retirement age.

The director-general urged LAWAN members to approach the workshop with an open mind and commitment to excellence in journalism.

She expressed optimism that enhancing journalists’ understanding of pensions would equip them better to educate members of the public, dispel misconceptions and foster financial planning culture and security among Nigerian workers.

“We firmly believe that a well-informed and engaged media plays a vital role in driving information flow and positive change in our society.

“As writers and journalists, you can shape public opinion and influence policy discussions.

“Therefore, we must work together to ensure accurate and comprehensive reporting on pension-related matters, which are of great significance to the well-being and future of Nigerian workers,” she said.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has warned the public to be mindful of the activities of the Association of Pension Desk Practitioners of Nigeria (ASSOPEP).

PenCom gave this warning in a statement signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Abdulqadir Dahiru, and made available to newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

The commission also dissociated itself from ASSOPEP activities on pension issues.

It urged the public to desist from relating with ASSOPEP regarding their pension and retirement benefits or other matters relating to the pension industry in Nigeria.

“The attention of PenCom has been drawn to the illicit activities of ASSOPEP and its claims of resolving pension issues and assisting retirees in securing their retirement benefits.

“The general public is kindly requested to note that the claims by ASSOPEP are entirely false.

“The association has no affiliation with the pension industry, nor authorisation of any kind whatsoever from PenCom,” the statement said.

PENCOM said that Licensed Pension Fund Operators (LPFOs), statutorily mandated to undertake the processing and payment of retirement benefits, were also not associated with ASSOPEP in any way.

It advised workers, retirees, pension desk officers and everyone approached by the association with claims of consulting with their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and PenCom in respect of their retirement benefits to exercise caution.

PenCom said that it had reported ASSOPEP to law enforcement agencies for appropriate action.

It said that any dealing with the association was at individual’s own risk.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has urged artisans, traders, and other self-employed people to enrol in the Micro Pension Plan of the commission to guarantee a functional retirement plan they can hold-on to.

The Head, Corporate Communications of PenCom, Abdulqadir Dahiru, made the call in Enugu on Thursday while stressing the importance of the Micro Pension Plan to Nigerians in the informal sector and those working in organizations with less than three employees.

Dahiru noted that about 90 per cent of workers in Nigeria are in the informal sector, adding that this category of workers have no pension protection for old age and with the increase in people living long, “there is a risk of old age poverty”.

According to him, the Micro Pension Plan platform provides workers in this sector the opportunity to easily register and contribute in a flexible manner and in a safe and secure environment for their pension at retirement.

“The Micro Pension Plan is a flexible plan, where the artisans, traders and even a woman that sells fried beans cake (akara), can register with and agree a periodic amount she/he would be contributing according to her/his earnings.

“The contributors, within this flexible Micro Pension Plan for all Nigerians in the informal sector, can even draw out 40 per cent of what they have saved for emergency demand; while the remaining 60 per cent would remain and await for the retirement plan proper.

“So, it is a means of savings also for those in the informal sector and where they could fall back to and get financial assistance to keep their daily engagements going,” he said.

He noted that PenCom was desirous to ensure Nigerians in the informal sector enrol and register in the plan, adding that it had started sensitisation of the plan to communities, market places, public gatherings, associations and trade fair grounds across the country.

Dahiru also urged Nigerians to embrace PenCom  acquisition of residential mortgages (residential houses) scheme for Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.

He recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved no less than 34 mortgage banks to work with the PenCom and Pension Fund Operators in providing mortgage financing to Contributors into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) with their RSA balance.

The PenCom spokesman said that the commission was determined to implement the scheme for the contributors to ensure that RSA holders have houses of their own at retirement.

Dahiru noted that for contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to be eligible to use their RSA balance for acquisition of residential mortgages, they must have contributed for five years (60 months) cumulative of employer and employee’s mandatory contributions.

“The same thing applies to the contributors under the Micro Pension Plan; even married couples, who individually met the eligibility criteria, were also eligible,” he said.

Explaining the limit for equity contribution that qualifies a contributor, he said that the maximum allowed at 25 per cent of the RSA balance, adding that where 25 percent of RSA balance is more than equity contribution, the RSA holder can only access the amount equivalent to equity contribution required.

“Where 25 per cent was not sufficient for equity contribution, RSA holders may utilise Voluntary Contribution (VC) in line with the Voluntary Contribution guidelines,” he said.

He said that it is hoped that the mortgage financing incentive would help to grow the number of contributors into the CPS scheme.

Dahiru further explained that the commission is presently at the ongoing Enugu International Trade Fair ground to promote her new plan, give clarification to questions on pension and make its presence felt among others.