October 2020

06Oct

Nigeria. Workers withdraw N2.56 billion in 25% early pension withdrawal

This is in line with the provisions of the Pension Reforms Act 2014, which allows pension fund contributors to withdraw 25% of their contributions if they lose their jobs and have not found any in 4 months. Read also Government unlikely to target South Africa’s retirement funds This was confirmed by the Pension Commission in its second quarter report published on its website. According to the data, about 4,688 Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders were disengaged from work but unable...

October 6, 2020
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September 2020

29Sep

Pension Fund Administrators in Nigeria and their scorecard

Despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected most aspects of the Nigerian economy, Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in Nigeria performed satisfactorily, as they recorded positive returns between January and August 2020. According to the report from Pension Nigeria, no PFA had negative returns on investment (ROI) during the period under review, indicating that all PFAs for Fund I, II, III, and IV recorded positive returns. This is quite impressive, given that the pandemic had impacted most...

September 29, 2020
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04Sep

How to Improve Mobile Money Service Usage and Adoption by Nigerians in the Era of COVID-19

By Joseph E Tonuchi The paper aims to investigate how to improve mobile money service adoption and usage by Nigerians during the era of COVID-19 by examining the challenges faced by mobile money users in Nigeria. The study used a mixed method to sample 300 targeted informal sector operators offline using questionnaires and 200 respondents online (ardent digital products users) using Google form. In reaching the targeted online sample, the study distributed the google form through social media while...

September 4, 2020
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August 2020

25Aug

Nigeria’s Federal Government Releases N14.92bn for Payment of Pension to Retirees

The federal government has released the sum of N14.92 billion for the payment of accrued rights for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS). Read also Nigeria. Axa close to selling off pension fund arm According to a statement issued yesterday by the National Pensions Commission (PenCom), the disbursement will offset four months’ arrears. Read also Pakistan. The politics of pension reform The accrued pension rights represent an employee’s benefits for the past years of service up to June 2004, when the...

August 25, 2020
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18Aug

Verod takes on Nigerian pensions operator

AXA Mansard Pension is the latest in a series of Nigerian investments by Verod Capital Management. West African private equity investor Verod Capital Management has taken over Nigerian pension administrator AXA Mansard Pension, following other investments made in the country’s financial services sector by Verod in recent years. AXA Mansard Pension operates saving accounts and pension funds on behalf of private and public sector employees, with the deal subject to regulatory approval by the National Pension Commission. Formerly known...

August 18, 2020
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12Aug

Nigeria. Axa close to selling off pension fund arm

Axa Mansard, the Nigerian branch of French insurer Axa, is on the verge of finalizing the sell-off of its pension fund administrator. The company sold the 60% stake (representing nearly 2.1 billion shares) it holds in Axa Mansard Pension Ltd to Eustacia Limited, a member of investment group Verod. “This transaction marks a new step in AXA ́s broader strategy to focus on and grow our Life, Property & Casualty (P&C) and Health businesses across all its territories. The...

August 12, 2020
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10Aug

Nigeria. Hope rises for annuity business

For more than 10 years, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the National Pension Commission (PenCom) struggled to find a common ground for the operation of life annuity business. A conflicting regulation between the duo caused various challenges of compliance. It came to a head in 2017, when both government agencies headed by the former Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari and Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu bickered, leading to the intervention of the former Minister of Finance, Mrs....

August 10, 2020
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05Aug

Nigeria. Operators invest N55.25bn pension funds in infrastructure

The Pension Funds Administrators have invested N55.25bn under the Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure as of the end of May, latest statistics from the National Pension Commission has revealed. The commission stated this in its report titled ‘Summary of pension fund assets as at 31 May, 2020’ obtained by our correspondent on Monday. According to the statistics, the total assets under management by the operators stood at N10.79tn in the period under review. The commission had stated in its...

August 5, 2020
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July 2020
06Jul

Nigeria. Edo govt spends N25bn on pension, clears arrears with N4.3bn

The Edo State Government has expended over N4.3 billion in clearing the backlog of outstanding pension arrears owed about 3,128 pensioners in the state. The state government also spent N25, 047,472,632.77 in the monthly pension payment of 13,081 pensioners from November 2016 to May 2020. According to a Mid-Year Report by the Edo State Pension Bureau as at 30th June, 2020,“the government spent a total of N771,714,393.01 between November and December 2016 for the payment of pensions;...

July 6, 2020
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01Jul

Nigeria´s FCMB bolstering its pensions business to drive profitability

First City Monument Bank Group is set to acquire up to 96 percent of Aiico Pensions Limited, the financial services group said in a notice on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, in yet another move to expand its pensions unit. The planned acquisition follows the company’s increase of its stake in Legacy Pensions – now FCMB Pensions – to 91.6 percent last year, giving it full control of the business. As of March, FCMB Pensions had grown its assets under...

July 1, 2020
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