TheCable

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says pension assets increased to N16.76 trillion within the half-year period (six months) that ended in June 2023.

The assets increased by 17.4 percent (N2.49 trillion) compared to N14.27 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

The commission disclosed this at a one-day workshop organised for journalists in Lagos on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Aisha Dahir-Umar, director-general of PenCom, said the number of registered contributors increased by 146,920 in June 2023.

She said the membership now has a total of 10 million contributors in the period reviewed, relative to 9,795,957 million recorded in June 2022.

Dahir-Umar, who was represented by Abdulqadir Dahiru, the commission’s head of corporate communications, called for more awareness in order to drive the numbers upward.

“PenCom’s proactive regulatory approach has strengthened the oversight and governance of pension funds, promoting transparency, accountability and safeguarding the interests of pension contributors,” she said.

“Consequently, pension assets have risen by N1.77 trillion in the first half of 2023, from N14.99 trillion in December 2022 to N16.76 trillion at the end of June 2023.

“Membership also increased by 146,920 new contributors, from 9.86 million members as of the end of 2022 to over 10 million members as of June 2023.

“The contributory pension scheme (CPS) has ensured that public and private sector workers can build retirement savings throughout their working lives, fostering financial security during their golden years.”

Dahiru, speaking on the commission’s responsibilities in improving service delivery, said PenCom would continue to intensify efforts in ensuring more workers are provided with their rights (pension) and get their benefits as and when due.

He also said the commission seeks to tackle challenges such as service culture, non-functional call centres, inadequate spread of pension fund administrators (PFAS) branches or service centres and infrastructure.

The spokesperson added that the issue of incomplete customer information/records, high staff attrition rate, inadequate sensitisation and public enlightenment programs must be addressed.

Also speaking on strategic ways of improving the services of the commission and ensuring consumer protection, Ikenna Chidi-Ebere, head of consumer protection department at PenCom, said customers should not hold back on reporting defaulters.

According to Chidi-Ebere, the commission has a whistleblower mechanism in place to ensure that no consumer is deprived of their benefits.

“The commission encourages both private and public sector employees to report defaulting employers not complying with the provisions of Pension Reform Act 2014 (non-remittance of mandatory monthly pension contributions).

“The report can be submitted anonymously to protect employees from the risk of job loss or victimisation by their employers.

“Employees can also report any observed irregularity that relates to pension matters which may hamper customer satisfaction.

“The report can be lodged at the online and offline addresses.”