The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Pensions to examine the standing of pension fund belongings, amounting to over N15.5 trillion.
The House mentioned that is to be sure that the N10 trillion loaned to the Federal Government from the pension fund is recovered and modalities put in place to keep away from a collapse of the pension scheme.
The House additionally urged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to make sure the speedy launch of funds for the fee of pension funds to all retirees, additionally resolved to probe the failure of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to fulfil their obligations to retirees.
The House, in a movement by Aliyu Bappa Misau famous that the Retirement Saving Accounts (RSAs) are “the lifeline that pensioners rely upon to cater to their needs upon retirement.”
However, the parliament expressed concern that the majority pensioners are unable to entry their retirement funds regardless of complying with the necessities of the contributory pension scheme.
It famous that neither the Pension Commision nor PFAs have been ready to give assurances of immediate fee of their entitlements.
According to the lawmakers, the shortcoming of retirees to entry their pension has subjected them to untold hardship, as they’re now unable to afford fundamental requirements.
“The pension fund assets which PenCom regulates, being the proceeds of the contributory pension scheme and returns on investment, stood at more than 15,500,000,000,000.00 (Fifteen Trillion, Five Hundred Billion Naira) as at the close of the first quarter of 2023.
“Hence there is no justification for retirees not to have access to their RSA. Critical stakeholders have expressed concern that 65% of the pension funds (N10 Trillion Naira) loaned to the Federal Government is an investment which exposes the contributors to unnecessary volatility as the Federal Government may fail to pay back the loan in due time,” the House famous.
