Pension Fund Assets Gain N388.98bn In Q2, 2022
Pension fund assets have risen by N388.98 billion, according to the second quarter (Q2) 2022 report released yesterday by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
The pension assets rose quarterly by N388.98 billion from the N13.88 trillion recorded at the end of Quarter One to N14.27 trillion at the end of the Quarter Two.
PenCom Director-General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar said the growth was mainly due to contributions received and interest income which was partly offset by depreciation in the prices of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds and equities during the period.
She stated that the Federal Government Securities and quoted domestic ordinary shares continued to account for the highest percentage of Pension Fund Assets investments in the second quarter of 2022.
She added that investments in FGN securities stood at N9.01 trillion, indicating an increase of N505.81 billion or 5.95 per cent over the value of N8.50 trillion as of March 31.
On the other hand, investments in quoted domestic ordinary shares increased by N12.53 billion to N1.069 trillion, she added.
Mrs. Dahir-Umar said: “The asset class represented 7.48 per cent of total pension assets. The increase in the value of investments in domestic quoted equities was primarily due to the appreciation of some stocks on the Nigerian Stock Pension Index, which gained 9.95 per cent.”
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In the same vein, she said membership under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) increased by 362,547 yearly from 9.44 million at the end of second quarter of 2021 to 9.80 million at the end of second quarter of this year.
She noted that quarterly, the increase in membership was 122,719 or 1.28 per cent, from 9.68 million in Q1 to 9.8 million in Q2 of 2022.
Mrs Dahir-Umar also said total pension contributions remitted to individual RSAs in Q2 2022 stood at N238.75 billion, with the public sector accounting for N136.79 billion or 57.29 percent.
In comparison, the private sector contributed N101.98 billion or 42.71 per cent. Quarter-on-quarter, aggregate pension contributions of the public sector from inception increased from N4.02 trillion in Q1 2022 to N4.15 trillion at the end of Q2 2022. Similarly, the aggregate pension contributions of the private sector from inception increased from N3.76 trillion in Q1 of the year to N3.86 trillion at the end of Q2 2022, she added.
How has the constant increase in pension assets impacted on the living standards of contributory retirees?
Today Contributory pension retirees from the public sector can not rereceive their lump sum and first monthly pension until about fifteen months or more after retirement.
CPS retirees from the public sector are owed pension increases since 2010, which the management of PTAD has duly paid to DBS retirees while PENCOM has failed to do same for contributory retirees who are also entitled to pension increases in accordance with Section 173(3) of the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Since 2004 PENCOM is yet to determine the minimum pension guarantee under the CPS in Nigeria.
Clearly the CPS managed
by private pension fund
managers is not benefiting
public retirees, instead it is the owners of pension
fund companies that are
benefiting from the CPS
and are daily smiling to the
bank with the huge profits they make from the
contributions of workers,
while workers and retirees
who are the owners of
pension funds are
impoverished.
Nigeria should emulate
other countries who
previously embraced CPS
managed by private
pension managers who
have since reversed their
private pension system
back to public
management.