The National Pension Commission (PenCom) at the weekend disclosed that the total pension assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) had grown to about N18 trillion as of December 2023 even as registered contributors also increased to about 10.I million.
The commission’s Head, Corporate Communications Department, Ibrahim Garba Buwai, who gave these hints at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria’s (FICAN’s) Annual General Meeting held on Friday in Abuja, spoke on various initiatives of the commission’s management to grow the assets and by so doing, ensure that contributors and retirees do not suffer after their service years.
While noting that the commencement of the implementation of the CPS was challenging, the spokesman explained those days were over as the management had put in place a system that is fraud-proof and the scheme remains solid and strong as demonstrated by the rising pension assets’ value and timely settlement of contributors as of and when due after their retirement.
According to him, as at today, the scheme has about 10.1 million contributors while the assets have surged to about N18.1 trillion as the commission continues to play its roles to ensure effective management and utilization of the funds for contributors as retirement benefits.
Buwai clarified: “What I am saying is that the N18.1 trillion belongs to the 10.1 contributors and that there is no free money for anybody out of these assets. Both as a regulator and the operator, our primary responsibility, that we have a fiduciary responsibility to carry out on behalf of these contributor and these retirees to ensure that these funds are safe, these funds are efficiently and effectively managed, and that they are available to be paid as retirement benefits to be paid as at when due.
“I will commend you for the positive reportage of the activities of PenCom and pension industry and to assure you of the consistent support of the management to the media. This is in recognition of the fact that the media is a good partner that will help us to spread the message so that we can reduce the doubt that the public has about the Contributory Pension Scheme”, he added.
On the milling rumour about the use of the pension assets to fund infrastructure projects, the spokesman debunked it, saying that the management is aware of the rumour and will not do anything to jeopardize the wellbeing of the pension contributors.
He explained: “I know that if the headline reads ‘pension funds to be invested in infrastructure’ the public will become jittery and weary because the thinking is that money is going to be given out as a contract by government to somebody to construct road or whatever. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“As far as pension funds are concerned, they are invested in various investible outlets. The infrastructure funds and infrastructure bonds are just investment outlets. The story here is about structuring.
“Direct investment in infrastructure is not allowed, and that is what takes care of your concerns and the concerns of the public that the funds are going to be lost, meaning being out pension money and give it to A to go and build house or road. No!
“But by the time you go through this structure, it is investment professionals that give you hosts of guidelines, which unfortunately, because the guidelines are stringent that is why we are not seeing much traction on our part, because the safety of pension funds remain the cardinal principle of our regulations. We are not wavering”, Buwai assured.
