- Contributors hit 9.38m mark
BY EDMOND ODOK – The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says with more than 9.38 million Nigerians participating in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the nation’s pension fund assets now stand in the region of over N12.66 trillion.
However, the Commission says despite these impressive numbers as at June 30, 2021, there still exist knowledge gap about the CPS 17 years after pension reforms took off in the country.
Addressing participants at its 2021 Workshop for Journalists in Lagos, Director General of the Commission, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar said the consistent growth trajectory has justified PenCom’s overriding investment philosophy of ensuring the safety and security of pension fund assets.
Mrs Dahir-Umar assured pension stakeholders that effective CPS’ implementation will remain on course, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has seen review of business processes by various organisations, with the Commission deepening technology innovation to effectively drive its operations.
According to the Director General, who was represented by Head of Corporate Communication, PenCom, Mr Peter Aghahowa; “COVID-19 has engendered socio-economic disruptions of the entire global order, with multifarious challenges in conducting hitherto routine activities.
“It was, therefore, imperative for the Commission to deepen technological innovation to navigate through the challenges imposed by the pandemic.”
“The most recent technological innovation introduced by the commission is the in-house designed and developed online enrolment application.”
Offering additional insight on the innovative ideas, Mrs Dahir-Umar said; “The application has capabilities to register, verify and enroll prospective retirees of Treasury-Funded Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”
She said deploying the new application has curtailed mass gathering of people while also enhancing convenience for prospective retirees through a seamless enrolment process.
Another notable technological innovation by the Commission is evident in the design and deployment of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Transfer System (RTS) launched in November 2020.
Mrs Dahir-Umar said public education and enlightenment are integral part of the five strategic focus areas that PenCom is pursuing currently, adding; “This is considered germane considering that 17 years after the pension reform in Nigeria, there still exists a knowledge gap on the CPS.
“Consequently, the commission is committed to reinvigorating its public enlightenment and education drive in order to address this challenge.”
The PenCom boss listed other strategic focus areas as the resolution of Federal Government’s outstanding pension liabilities; improvement in customer service delivery across the pension industry; and portfolio diversification of pension fund investments.
Mrs Dahir-Umar also assured that the Commission would remain unrelenting in pursuing sustainable growth in the pension industry by expanding the CPS’ coverage nationwide.
