Federal Govt Tasks Pension Council On Transparency, Wider Coverage

The national authorities has urged the recently inaugurated Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) to prioritise transparency, accountability, and wider sum successful managing Nigeria’s increasing pension sector.

Speaking astatine the council’s inauguration successful Abuja connected Thursday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, described the constitution of the assemblage arsenic a “timely and visionary step” towards strengthening the country’s pension system, safeguarding status savings, and mobilising semipermanent superior for nationalist development.

The manager wide of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and president of the PILC, Omolola Oloworaran, said the Council was conceived arsenic a level to supply strategical enactment to the industry, akin to the relation played by the Bankers’ Committee successful the fiscal sector.

“Our corporate task is to grow coverage, enforce governance, mobilise pension assets for development, and fortify nationalist assurance successful the scheme,” Oloworaran stated. “Just arsenic the 2004 betterment was the archetypal gyration successful our pension system, this Council indispensable present pb the 2nd evolution—one that is much inclusive, innovative, and impactful.”

The SGF noted that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), introduced nether the Pension Reform Act of 2004, remains 1 of Nigeria’s astir enduring economical reforms. He explained that the strategy has restored nationalist spot successful pensions by moving distant from the troubled Defined Benefits strategy that near galore retirees unpaid and vulnerable.

“Over the years, the pension manufacture has recorded singular achievements. The strategy present covers millions of contributors, and pension assets person grown into trillions of naira,” Akume said. “However, challenges remain, peculiarly successful expanding sum to informal assemblage workers, protecting worth against inflation, and deepening nationalist assurance successful the system.”

He charged the caller assembly to fortify spot done “strict governance standards, regular nationalist reporting, and uncompromising transparency,” stressing that the information of workers’ status funds indispensable stay the highest priority.

Akume tasked the assembly with expanding pension sum done the Micro Pension Plan, designed to bring millions of self-employed Nigerians—including traders, artisans, and tiny concern operators—into the contributory scheme. He believes broadening inclusion is captious to ensuring that pensions are a genuine societal extortion tool.

Beyond coverage, the SGF highlighted the relation of pension assets successful financing nationalist development. With accumulated assets exceeding N19 trillion, Akume said the manufacture holds tremendous imaginable to money infrastructure, housing, renewable energy, and enactment for tiny and medium-sized enterprises.

“Retirement savings indispensable service the dual intent of providing information for contributors and supporting the productive economy,” helium said. “If decently invested, pension funds tin span financing gaps successful cardinal sectors portion inactive guaranteeing information and returns.”

He besides called connected the Council to clasp innovation, stressing the request for integer solutions specified arsenic mobile entree to accounts, real-time reporting, and unified databases to heighten ratio and combat fraud. “The aboriginal of pensions indispensable beryllium digital, inclusive, and transparent,” helium added.

Reaffirming authorities support, Akume said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s medication would proceed to supply enabling policies and a unchangeable macroeconomic situation for the pension assemblage to thrive. He described pensions arsenic “the cornerstone of inclusive economical maturation and a committedness that authorities indispensable ever support to its citizens.”

PenCom DG stressed that the council’s enactment would straight signifier the aboriginal information of Nigerian workers, pensioners, and their families. According to her, the caller assemblage volition besides enactment to guarantee that pension medication remains transparent and accountable and transformative successful driving economical growth.

Oloworaran assured stakeholders that the Council would urgently prosecute innovation and inclusivity, noting that millions of Nigerians successful the informal system merit status protection. “We are determined to guarantee that pensions stay a committedness kept for each Nigerian worker, careless of concern oregon income level,” she said.

Akume and Oloworaran called for unity, foresight, and bold enactment from stakeholders, emphasising that the council’s mandate goes beyond medication to shaping the information and prosperity of aboriginal generations.