Alarmed by the high rate of inflation, naira devaluation, and lingering effects of unorthodox monetary policies that have eroded the real value of pension funds in the country, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has hinted at plans to diversify pension fund investments.
The PenCom Director General, Ms. Bridget Oloworaran, dropped the hint on Thursday at a media workshop organised for the Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PENCAN) in Abuja, with the theme: “Tech-Driven Transformation: Shaping the Pension Landscape.”
Ms. Oloworaran, who stated that the Contributary Pension Scheme (CPS) has recorded 10.53 million registered contributors and bolstered pension fund assets of N21.92 trillion, informed that the Commission has initiated a comprehensive review of the investment regulations, focusing on diversifying pension fund investments into inflation-protected instruments, alternative assets, and foreign-currency-denominated investments.
She noted that the goal was to safeguard contributors’ savings and ensure resilience against future economic volatility.
The DG, who disclosed that only 8 states out of the 36 states are under the CPS, revealed that her plan was to ensure that within the next three years all the 36 states would be captured under the scheme.
She said that plans are also ongoing to expand the CPS to Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Oloworaran, said the Commission achieved a major milestone with the launch of the e-Application Portal for Pension Clearance Certificates (PCC) in October this year, adding the initiative replaced the manual process, enabling companies to seamlessly apply for and receive PCCs online.
She revealed that the Commission so far issued 38,528 PCCs, significantly enhancing ease of doing business and ensuring compliance, resulting in a remittance of over N1.144 trillion.
Furthermore, the DG informed that the Pension Industry Shared Service Initiative is in advanced stages of implementation and assured that the initiative would digitise pension contributions and remittances, ensuring seamless processing of retirement savings account contributions and resolving discrepancies caused by incomplete remittance details.
She said to further enhance contributors’ experiences, PenCom has introduced a revised programmed withdrawal template, simplifying access to voluntary contributions and revising the threshold for en-bloc payments in line with the new minimum wage, affirming that these measures were designed to make retirement processes more efficient and user-centric.
She said the Commission was also addressing delays in retirement benefit payments to retirees of Federal Government treasury-funded Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“Recently, N44 billion was released under the 2024 budget appropriations to settle accrued pension rights for retirees from March to September 2023. Moving forward, we are working with the federal government to institutionalise a sustainable solution, ensuring retirees receive their benefits promptly and without undue stress,” she added.
The DG said efforts would be intensified to engage with the police to remain with the CPS with the guarantee that they have access to their pension rights as and when due.
She said a time is coming when no pensioners would besiege the MDAs to demand their pension rights, as adequate funds would be released by the federal government to settle accrued pension rights for retirees.
Ms. Oloworaran was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024 to drive efficiency and superlative performance in PenCom as the prime regulator of the Nigerian pension industry.
Her appointment was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate in November 2024, after meeting the legal requirements specified under sections 19 (2), (5), (6), and 26 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 (Act No. 4) for appointment to the position of Director-General of the Commission.
