July 2018

31Jul

Nigeria nets $26,6b in pension funds

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) said that the total pension fund assets stood at $26.6 billion (about N8.14 trillion) as at May, 2018.The Commission said in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr. Peter Aghahowa, on Sunday in Abuja that the assets rose from $24.5 billion in December 2017, to $26.6 billion in May 2018. It also said that $16.9 billion had been invested in Federal Government Securities by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). According to the statement, the investment represented...

July 31, 2018
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May 2018

23May

Nigeria. A pension scheme for informal sector operators

ARE you an architect, lawyer, actor, musician, business-man, trader, caterer, electrician, carpenter, cab driver, or a commercial motor cyclist? If yes, you will soon have an opportunity to save for your future under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), courtesy of the Federal Government. How? The government through the National Pension Commission is planning to release a micro pension scheme that will enable self-employed persons and the informal sector to join the CPS. At present, the guidelines for the new scheme are being...

May 23, 2018
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February 2018

26Feb

Nigeria. Uduanu: It is Time to Relax Pension Fund Investment Guidelines

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Director, Sigma Pensions, Mr. Dave Uduanu in this interview, spoke extensively on the progressive reforms in the pensions industry and how pension funds can impact the lives of Nigerian citizens. Nume Ekeghe presents the excerpts: Being that we are still in the first quarter of the year, what is your outlook for the pensions industry for 2018? We expect growth to continue in the pension industry. The industry is now growing at about 20 per...

February 26, 2018
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January 2018

10Jan

Nigeria. Balogun now Chairman as Legacy Pension Managers Reorganises Board

Following the acquisition of majority share 60 per cent of the Legacy Pensions by the FCMB Group recently, the new owners have reorganized the board of the pension fund administration. This has witnessed the appointment of Mr Ladi Balogun as the chairman of the company’s board and Mr. James Ilori as non-executive director . A statement from the PFA, said this has received the approval of the National Pension Commission. Balogun, was until March last year the Chief Executive Officer of First...

January 10, 2018
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October 2017

13Oct

Nigeria. Pension fund assets rise by N862bn

The latest report on the Nigerian pension fund administration, which was released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Pension Commission, indicated that the country’s pension fund assets increased by N862bn to N6.164tn as of December 31, 2016. According to the report, the N6.164tn pension fund assets represent six per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, as the figure indicates an increase of N862bn when compared to the N5.302tn recorded in 2015. It stated that a...

October 13, 2017
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10Oct

Nigeria. Contributory Pensions Scheme Vs Pension Reform Act 2014 Amendment: A Preamble

It is clear from the One-Day public hearing on the multiple bills to amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 at the House of Representatives in Abuja on Thursday 28 September, that important stakeholders in the pensions sector, namely, the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Employees Consultative Association, Securities and Exchange commission, National Pension Commission, Nigerian Union of Pensioners and Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria, among others, have decided to...

October 10, 2017
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September 2017

26Sep

Nigeria. The Senate and the risky politics of pension

There is an ongoing debate on reforming pensions, yet again, in Nigeria. Since 2004, Nigeria has largely adopted the contributory pension scheme. But as years go by, this system has continued to be gradually chipped away. One of the currently debated bills, which is making its way into an Act, seeks to amend the 2014 Pension Reform Act to exclude the following members from the contributory pension scheme: the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the...

September 26, 2017
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12Sep

Why the presidency should save PenCom from politics

The Nigerian constitution reposes a lot of powers on the Office of the President. For the most part, the incumbent rightly exercises these powers powerfully and seamlessly. At other times, the office encounters challenges, confrontations, and contestations in exercising these rights. The latter scenario usually attracts divergent views as to the propriety or otherwise of presidential powers, as enshrined in the constitution. The recent tussle between the senate and the presidency with regards to the confirmation of Mr Magu, as...

September 12, 2017
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09Sep

Nigeria. Digitization, fintech as panacea to financial inclusion

One of the compelling aspirations of the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the last two years has been to ramp up the numbers for financial inclusion in the country. To this end, Nigeria’s apex bank, alongside other regulators in the financial services sector, including the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), has vigorously pursued the agenda of financial inclusion through various initiatives with a clear intent to bring millions of Nigerians, especially those in the informal...

September 9, 2017
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04Sep

Nigeria. Retirees to use voice, fingerprints for pension

Operators of the Contributory Pension Scheme are putting in place a biometric method to improve documentations of retirees and ensure proper payments on entitlements. Some of the characteristics of the process will include the use of fingerprints, voiceprints, facial features, writing patterns, iris patterns and hand geometry. According to the Pension Funds Operators Association, the method involves the use of passwords and PIN numbers, to ensure highest level of security. While noting that biometrics being introduced would involve data collection, transmission,...

September 4, 2017
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