Bulk of N6.02tn Pension fund safely invested in govt bonds—PFOAN boss
The Chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PFOAN), Mr. Eguarehide Longe has revealed that the pension funds were active in different investment portfolios, saying the bulk of the fund is invested in government bonds, which the government has invested some in infrastructure.
Longe added further that the fund had been borrowed for reasonably long-term should be used for reasonable long-term assets and not to fund recurrent expenditure.
From available facts, the impact of recession on the Nigerian economy seems not to have affected deposits as the total funds under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to N6.02tn at the end of November 2016.
According to the commission, the funds rose from N4.6tn at the end of the 2014 financial period to N5.3tn in 2015.
In the voice the Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, “the funds were being well managed, adding that no fraud had been recorded under the scheme”.
While recalling that the Pension Reform Act, 2004, which was the governing legislation of the CPS, was repealed and re-enacted in July 2014, Anohu-Amazu said the new law re-enacted the copious provisions of the repealed 2004 Act, which included the establishment of the CPS as well as PenCom as the sole regulator and supervisor of pension matters in the country.
According to him, “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”.
