Pension - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Folashade Adeniran
May, Mon, 2025

Senator urges stronger collaboration in pension sector

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By Taiye Olayemi

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Sen. Oluwole Fasuyi, has urged pension operators to strengthen collaboration for better contributor welfare.

Fasuyi made this call on Saturday at the inaugural leadership retreat for the pension industry, organised by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) in Lagos.

The retreat, which began on Thursday and ended Saturday, had the theme: ‘Sustainable Retirement: Strategic Blueprint for Economic Development and Inclusion.’

He stressed the need for joint efforts to tackle sector challenges and enhance the system for those who rely on it in retirement.

“Operators, regulators and legislators must deepen collaboration to change the pension narrative and enhance contributor welfare,” he said.

He noted rising concerns from contributors wishing to exit the scheme, with the committee frequently receiving petitions against its mandatory nature.

However, he said expanding inclusion through public awareness remains a legislative priority, noting the market is larger than the reported ₦22 trillion.

He clarified that legislative oversight should not be mistaken for hostility, urging the Senate be included in all industry engagements.

Fasuyi described Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) as social welfare players, who must prioritise contributor wellbeing alongside financial returns.

“I commit to ensuring our oversight role retains a human face,” he assured operators.

Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Ahmad, founding Director-General of PenCom, emphasised the importance of collaboration within the pension industry.

He said PenCom was created by the legislature, and stronger partnerships among lawmakers, employers, employees and regulators are crucial for sector development.

Ahmad noted that saving for the future is difficult due to low incomes, high unemployment and significant cash held outside the banking system.

To sustain growth, he called for bridging industry knowledge gaps and preserving institutional memory to strengthen operations.

Umar Mairami, former Managing Director of Premium Pension, urged stakeholders to grow contributor numbers, which remain alarmingly low.

He said increased participation would boost business for PFAs and, in turn, support broader economic development.

A surge in contributors, he added, translates to higher business volume and improved national growth indicators.

Mairami advocated tax exemptions for contributors to encourage participation and promote retirement security.

He called on industry players to agree on a shared goal to boost enrolment and build unity across all parties.

“We must balance profitability with contributor protection to sustain long-term industry growth,” he added.

Dr Faruk Aminu, former PENCOM investment head, urged PFAs to increase value creation for contributors through improved services.

He advised lawmakers to consider mandating higher employer contributions to address pension adequacy challenges.

“Policy consistency is essential. Problems in pensions impact all sectors of the economy,” he warned. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo

Pensioners urge Kaduna govt to defray N20bn pension liabilities

Rabi'u Sani Ali
May, Thu, 2025

General News

Pensioners urge Kaduna govt to defray N20bn pension liabilities

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By Hussaina Yakubu

The National Union of Pensioners (NUP), has urged Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna State, to pay the N20 billion outstanding pension liabilities owed its members

The State Secretary of the union, Alhassan Balarabe-Musa, said this on Thursday in Kaduna while commenting to the 2025 International Workers’ Day.

He said the Sani administration inherited over N30 billion pension liabilities at its inauguration on May 29,2023.

“The governor has paid over N3.6 billion in 2023. In all, he has paid over N10.4 billion to date.

“We are grateful that he has settled part of the inherited pension liabilities but more efforts should be made in this direction,” he said.

Balarabe-Musa, however, lamented those under the contributory pension scheme were yet to receive payment from 2017 to date.

The scribe said that workers disengaged in 2017, especially those in the service of the local government councils were yet to be paid as their records have been declared missing.

He, therefore, urged the governor to do the needful for this category of pitiable pensioners to get their entitlements, adding that, “this will greatly help in alleviating their sufferings as most of them and their dependents are now living from hand to mouth.”

Alhassan Balarabe-Musa, NUP Secretary, Kaduna State

Balarabe-Musa also advocated for the implementation of the N32,000 pension increase approved by the Federal Government.

“So, if the increase is implemented, pensioners in the state will receive a minimum of N62,000 monthly pension.

“I want the governor to be the second one to implement it as only Yobe is the only state that has so far done so across Nigeria.

“He should emulate his predecessor who was the first governor to implement the N30,000 minimum pension in February 2020.”

The NUP scribe further urged the governor to provide a bus and a plot of land for it to build a befitting State Secretariat

He decried, ” The union had 15 houses at the Marafa Estate in Kaduna city, which were sold at the tale end of the Nasir El-Rufai administration.

“The exercise violated all extant due process regulations as the houses were sold at a paltry sum of N200million, with even no records to where the money went.

“We, therefore, want the governor to probe these sales, revoke it and retrieve these houses for NUP,” he said, adding that the state government provided vehicles to all the trade unions except the NUP. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

How ICPC recovered N20bn ghost workers’ pension deductions in 2024 – Chairman

Philip Daniel Yatai
Feb, Wed, 2025

Defence/Security

How ICPC recovered N20bn ghost workers’ pension deductions in 2024 – Chairman

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By Isaac Aregbesola

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it recovered over N20 billion in pension deductions from the salaries of ghost workers in 2024.

The Chairman of ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a breakfast meeting with some members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

Aliyu said that the commission also arrested some people who specialised in inserting names of their cronies into the Federal Government payroll.

According to him, while deductions for workers’ pension are remitted to Pension Fund Administrators, the same cannot be said for ghost workers’ pension.

“Any deduction made on ghost workers cannot go to any Pension Fund Administrator.

” It will be hanging; so that was the N20 billion recovered.

“We have been able to track and recover this amount of money and we also identified people that are inserting ghost workers in the system.

“We even discovered that somebody put his wife, his son and his inlaw on the payroll.

” He is a 15-year-old boy. We arrested him.

“ These are some of the challenges that we are trying to see that we tackle.

” We don’t want to allow this to happen again,” he said.

The chairman further revealed that the commission succeeded in blocking about N50 billion from being diverted by some public officers in 2023.

While seeking the support of the media in achieving the commission’s mandate, he said that the anti-graft agency had put in place strategies to fight corruption.

He said that the commission was trying its best to achieve its goal, adding that it would not hide information or compromise on enforcement

“As we are empowered and regarding the issue of enforcement, we will ensure that we share verified information through reports, newsletters and press releases on our website and social media.

“Last year, we had an event whereby we unveiled the Strategic Action Plan 2024-2028

” Our strategic Action Plan is in line with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

“We would always be proactive in making sure that we don’t allow certain things to happen so that we don’t go chasing shadows,” he said.

The chairman, however, advocated a review of the nation’s laws to make corruption less attractive.

According to him, anyone found guilty of corruption should not benefit from it as in some jurisdictions.

Aliyu said such persons should be made to pay the full amount involved into public coffers with interest and barred from holding public office for as long as 10 years.

He urged Nigerians to stop eulogising corrupt people, saying this had been at the heart of the rot in society.

He pledged to transform the commission to a leading anti-graft agency in the country with the mutual relationship established with the media.

“Our partnership with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has greatly improved our anti-corruption communication and public engagement efforts.

“We salute your commitment to the crusade against corruption and our successful efforts in 2024.

“We believe that our combined professional integrity would lead us to achieve more in our mandate of mass mobilisation against corrupt practices in Nigeria,” he said.

Miss Hussaina Akila, the Director of News, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, in her remarks, lauded the ICPC chairman for initiating the forum.

Akila, however, urged the anti-graft agency to ensure comprehensive insurance of its operatives, saying this would boost their morale.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by editors and bureau chiefs from the northern part of the country. (NAN)

Edited by Mufutau Ojo

Police exit from contributory pension huge risk- PenOp

Ismail Abdulaziz
Nov, Wed, 2024

Economy/Business

Police exit from contributory pension huge risk- PenOp

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By Nana Musa

The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), has expressed concerns over proposals from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

Mr Oguche Agudah, the Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, voiced the concern on Tuesday in Abuja during a public hearing on a bill for an act to establish a police pension board.

He said that the CPS operates on a pre-funded model with both employees and employers contributing a mandatory percentage of the employee’s salary.

Agudah said that usually, a minimum of eight per cent from the employee and 10 per cent from the employer, totaling a minimum contribution rate of 18 per cent, is usually gathered.

He said that either party had the latitude to contribute a higher percentage, which allows pension funds to accumulate and be invested for future payouts.

Agudah said that the National Pension Commission (PenCom), as of September, had a total pension assets, under the CPS, that had exceeded ₦20 trillion (approximately $12 billion),

He said that PenCom had ensured that the funds were not solely reliant on government budgets, thus reducing vulnerability to fiscal constraints.

Agudah said that the transitioning to the DBS would not solve the police’s concerns.

“It will, rather, create deeper financial and operational challenges for the country,” he said.

He said that the CPS had proven to be a transparent, sustainable and resilient system for managing pensions, benefiting both retirees and the broader economy.

Agudah said that reverting to the DBS model, which relies on government budgetary allocations, would lead to fiscal unsustainability and delayed payments for pensioners.

“Moving the police out of the CPS will require a staggering N3.5 trillion annually to fund pensions for approximately 400,000 personnel, in a budget already burdened by deficits. This is simply unsustainable.

“It will also divert resources from other critical needs, including minimum wage adjustments and public services,” he said.

Agudah said that pension funds under the CPS are currently invested in bonds, infrastructure and other critical sectors that contribute to the country economic growth.

He said that unwinding the investments to accommodate a DBS for the police would erode the value of assets and destabilise the financial system.

Agudah said that the CPS currently holds over N21 trillion in assets, and remains a critical component of the country’s economic infrastructure.

He said that maintaining the police within the CPS would ensure long-term sustainability, equity and economic stability.

Agudah said that setting a dangerous precedent was not good.

“If the police exit the CPS, other public sector groups may demand similar transitions, fragmenting the pension system and undermining reform efforts.

“And our key aim and our key goal is to ensure that all pensioners are paid on time, all pensioners have a living pension, and everybody gets their pension on time.

“What we heard at the hearing is actually a joy to us because what we are seeing is that even the sponsor of the bill is on the path that it is not really the CPS that is the problem of the police. It is the welfare.

“So, what we have said is, if your salary is small, your pensions will be small,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin