PenCom To Amend Act After 12 Years, Drive Reforms for Retirees
- The National Pension Commission began a review of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which has not been amended in 12 years
- PenCom DG Omolola Oloworaran said the review would close implementation gaps and improve retirement outcomes for contributors
- PenCom also revealed only 8 states fully implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme, while the women's pension enrolment target fell far short
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has begun a formal review of the Pension Reform Act 2014, citing the need to bring the legislation in line with current realities and close gaps exposed during implementation.
PenCom Director-General and Chairman of the Pension Industry Leadership Council, Omolola Oloworaran, made the announcement on Tuesday at a press conference following the council's third quarterly meeting at Fraser Suites, Abuja.
Source: UGC
The gathering brought together leaders from Pension Fund Administrators, Pension Fund Custodians, Closed Pension Fund Administrators and the Commission to assess industry performance and set reform priorities.
Why PenCom is reviewing the pension law
Oloworaran explained that the Act, which has gone unamended for 12 years, no longer adequately supports the reforms the commission is pursuing.
"The reason we are reviewing is to modernise the Act," she said. "Things continue to change, and we continue to come up with reform ideas that improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians who are part of the scheme."
She acknowledged that certain weaknesses had surfaced during implementation.
"Certainly, we did have some implementation gaps in the previous Act that we'll also try and correct in this Act," she said, adding that all proposed amendments were designed to benefit contributors and retirees. Oloworaran declined to reveal specific changes under consideration, noting that stakeholder consultations were still ongoing.
PenCom targets capital markets, compliance and pension literacy
Beyond the legislative review, the council deliberated on a range of measures to make Nigeria's pension industry more competitive and accessible.
These included advancing the proposed Pension Industry Infrastructure Fund, which Oloworaran said had reached an advanced stage, and introducing a liability-driven investment framework to strengthen retirement outcomes.
PenCom also announced its first National Pension Week, scheduled from September 15 to 19, aimed at improving public understanding of the pension system.
Oloworaran admitted that enrolment of women under the Personal Pension Plan had fallen well short of expectations.
"I was hoping that we would get one million women on board, but we haven't even gotten close to that," she said, noting that the commission was reaching out to market women associations and transport unions to drive participation in the informal sector.
On compliance, Oloworaran said enforcement against employers who fail to remit workers' contributions would be stepped up.
PenCom currently works with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and plans to bring the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on board shortly.
She also disclosed that only eight states had fully implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme, with two more close to doing so, and that the pilot health insurance scheme for retirees had attracted roughly 13,000 participants against a target of 30,000.
To boost enrolment, eligibility was expanded to cover pensioners earning monthly pensions of up to N150,000, temporarily raised from the previous N70,000 threshold.
Source: Legit.ng
