The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: PenCom

  • PenCom: Review of pension act 2021

    PenCom: Review of pension act 2021

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    At its retreat in Abuja, it identified salient issues to be reviewed in the act. Present were stakeholders from the National Assembly, Pension Fund Operators (PenOp), labour unions, employers’ union, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and others.

    In a statement, the commission said the National Assembly would organise a public hearing to enable stakeholders their make input. The Pension Reform Act 2014 was enacted following a review of the one in 2004.

    Director-General of PenCom Aisha Dahir-Umar told participants that the 2014 Act codified one of the most important socio-economic initiatives of the Federal Government, leading to an industry that had assets in excess of N13 trillion. She noted that the review followed some implementation challenges encountered with certain sections. “This is in addition to persistent calls from stakeholders for the amendment of some sections… which resulted in several legislative initiatives through sponsorship of bills for amendment of the PRA 2014 by the National Assembly.

    “Consequently, the commission…decided to coordinate and harmonise the various efforts to achieve a more comprehensive and constructive exercise for the review of the PRA 2014”, she added.

    Chairman of Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Ibrahim Shekarau said the 2004 Act was reviewed in 2014 having been implemented for 10 years. Shekarau said the National Assembly and PenCom were being proactive by initiating the second review less than 10 years since the first review in response to the dynamism of the industry.

    He said all laws are never perfect and in the case of PRA, between 2014 and now, several developments have necessitated a review of the legislation. Furthermore, he stated that since his assumption of duty in the Senate, saddled with responsibility for pension matters, he has received several submissions from stakeholders requesting for a review of some sections of the PRA 2014.

    He noted that not all the agitations for the review of the PRA 2014 are backed by sound arguments, but they show a need for a review of the pension legislation.

    Also speaking at the retreat, the Chairman House Committee on Pension, Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, stated that attempts were made to review some provisions of the PRA 2014 by the 8th National Assembly, but the process was not concluded owing to some issues.

    He therefore expressed the commitment of the Committee in ensuring a diligent review of the PRA 2014 as the retreat provided a valuable input into the process.

    The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, cautioned against policies that will undermine the CPS, including agitations to exempt some employees from the scheme as it may defeat the primary purpose of the CPS.

    The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Quadri Olaleye, represented by an executive member of the TUC, Hafsat Shuaibu, cited the disruptions in the workplace as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it imperative to review the pension legislation.

    On his part, the representative of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Thompson Akpabio, commended PenCom for the consultative retreat and expressed optimism that the outcome would improve the CPS.

    He said the review was apt, as since 2014, there have been several cases on pension matters decided in various courts and that the implications of these decisions should be considered during the review of the PRA 2014.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • PenCom: FG retired Workers have not been paid Pension since March 2020

     

    Most Federal Government workers that retired from March 2020 to March 2021 have not been paid their pensions.

     

    The Director-General, National Pension Commission, Aisha Umar, disclosed this while presenting her welcome remarks during the oversight visit of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Services to the commission in Abuja.

     

     

    In the remark obtained on Sunday, Umar said, “It is perhaps appropriate at this juncture to highlight some of the major challenges of the commission.

     

    “As you are aware, the fundamental objective of the pension reform is to ensure that every worker receives their retirement benefits as and when due.

     

    “However, it is sad to report that there are, today, a large number of Federal Government employees who retired from March 2020 to March 2021 under the Contributory Pension Scheme that are yet to receive their pensions due to non-payment of their accrued pension rights.

     

    “This challenge, which started in 2014, was essentially triggered by the appropriation of insufficient amounts for payment of accrued pension rights of FGN retirees and further aggravated by late or non-release of full appropriated amounts.”

     

     

    She said the challenges included the FGN’s non-compliance with the new minimum statutory rate of pension contribution of 18 per cent since 2014; non-payment of approved 15 per cent and 33 per cent pension increases to pensioners under the CPS.

     

    Others are non-payment of shortfall for payment of full retirement benefits of retired heads of service and permanent secretaries; and non-payment of FGN pension protection levy.

     

    “These have created sad and negative impression on the full realisation of the objectives of the CPS in Nigeria,” she said.

     

    She said that PenCom appreciated the role played by the Senate committee in the past to move the National Assembly to intervene in the matter of payment of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government.

     

    However, she noted, the challenge had not been because pension liability was a moving target that increases on monthly basis as FGN employees retired.

     

    She said, “Another issue that is worth mentioning to this distinguished committee is the persistent complaints against certain sections of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which need amendments.

     

    “This is normal with every new system and the experience of the CPS in Nigeria is bound to be the same. Consequently, the commission had obtained inputs from critical stakeholders and cataloged their proposed amendments of provisions of the PRA 2014.

     

     

    “However, as was done in the first review exercise that birthed the present Act, it is imperative to subject the proposed amendments to extensive experts’ and stakeholders’ engagements prior to presentation to the Federal Executive Council and then National Assembly for further legislative action.”

     

    She said the commission was pleased to note that the Senate Committee had committed to support these processes from the early stage and collaborated with the House Committee on Pensions in order to ensure a smooth and qualitative exercise.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com