The House of Representatives is set to investigate the status of N15.5 Trillion comprising N5.5 Trillion Pension Assets being regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and also the status of the N10 Trillion loaned to the federal government and efforts being made to recover the funds which belongs to Pensioners.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Aliyu Bappa Misau (PDP, Bauchi) at the Plenary on Tuesday.
Presenting the motion, he said the pension fund assets which PenCom regulates, were the proceeds of the contributory pension scheme and returns on investment.
According to him, it stood at more than N15.5 Trillion (Fifteen Trillion,Five Hundred Billion Naira) as at the close of the first quarter of 2023.
Misau said, there is no justification for retirees not to have access to their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).
The lawmaker said, “Retirement Saving Accounts (RSAs) are the lifeline that pensioners rely upon to cater to their needs upon retirement.
“Most pensioners are unable to access their retirement funds despite complying with the requirements of the contributory pension scheme, and neither the National Pension Commission (PenCom) nor the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have been able to reassure them of prompt payment of their entitlements”.
According to him, 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 therefore urge the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to ensure the immediate release of funds for the payment of pension funds to all retirees
It mandated the Committee on Pensions to investigate the status of the over N15.5 Trillion pension fund assets and ensure that the N10 trillion Naira loaned to the Federal Government from pension funds is duly recovered and modalities are put in place to hinder a collapse of the pension scheme.
