Ebere Nwoji
The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) now has a total of N6.02 trillion assets.
This represents total fund accrued from the scheme in its 12 years regime in Nigeria as at November 2016.
The Director-General, National Pension Commission,( PenCom) Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, in her latest information on status of the scheme, asset-wise, attributed the growth to the prudent way the fund managers handled it and lack of fraudulent activities under the scheme.
According to her, the funds rose from N4.6 trillion at the end of the 2014 financial period to N5.3 trillion in 2015.
Anohu-Amazu, also explained that the new law re-enacted in July 2014, replacing the Pension Reform Act (PRA), 2004, also empowered PenCom as the sole regulator and supervisor of pension matters in the country.
According to her, among other significant revisions, the PRA 2014 introduced some innovations in the pension system, instituted a stiffer regime of sanctions and penalties for infringements, ensured the upward review of the minimum rate of pension contribution in order to enhance the value of pension pay-outs, and expanded the coverage of private sector employees under the CPS.
She also said the recovery agents put in place by the commission also boosted the performance of the scheme.
According to her, the commission has recovered over N11billion between 2013 and date from errant firms through its recovering agents.
The PenCom boss, while commending the effort of the recovering agents, said the commission in 2012, discovered that several thousands of employers were not funding their workers’ Retiring Savings Accounts (RSAs), hence, employed the services of recovery agents.
The Commissions Secretary and Legal Adviser Muhammad Muhammad had warned that non remittance of deducted employee salary is a criminal offense adding the Commission would collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to ensure all outstanding contributions were remitted.
