In the second quarter of 2024, about 484,464 Nigerians withdrew over N247.47 billion from their retirement savings accounts due to job losses....For More READ THE FULL STORY▶▶
Data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) shows that the withdrawals represent 25% of their pension savings, highlighting the impact of the rising cost of doing business in Nigeria, which has led to widespread unemployment.
The withdrawal amount in the second quarter of 2024 surpasses the N182.2 billion withdrawn by 443,720 savings account holders in Q3 of 2023, which critics say was due to President Bola Tinubu’s government’s bad policy implementation.
The Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) chief executive, Ogwuche Aguda, said during the 2024 annual conference of Abuja’s Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PenCAN) conference.
He gave an update on the contributory pension scheme, stating that contributions from the public and private sectors increased to N5.72 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, while the total pension assets hit 20.87 trillion as of the same period.
Pensioners criticise FG’s implementation strategy
According to Aguda, N169.67 billion, representing 0.81% of total assets, was invested in infrastructure as of July.
Additionally, N2.16 trillion, or about 10.35% of total assets, was invested in the equity market, while N2.25 trillion was directed into corporate debt in the second quarter of 2024.
He applauded the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for its impact on pension management in Nigeria, describing it as a shift from a broken system to a transparent and reliable scheme.
Leadership reported that the National Union of Pensioners criticised the 2004 Pension Reform Act for not addressing important issues, including periodic adjustment of pension retirees.
The union claims this weakness has made the Nigeria police want to exit the scheme. Reports say that PenCom reassured Nigerians that the Nigerian government’s outstanding pension liabilities under the CPS will soon be cleared..…For More READ THE FULL STORY ▶
