N12bn Transition Contribution Funds: PenCom Urges Employees Of Defunct Companies To Reclaim Funds

Head of the Investment Supervision Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr. Chioma Ehimeme, speaking at the Media Parley with members of the Nigerian Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos recently.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom), the pension industry’s regulator has called on former employees of various defunct companies to approach their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to reclaim their funds.

Speaking at the media parley organised by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), in Lagos with the theme “At the Dawn of 20 Years of Pension Reform, What Are The Gains?” Head of the Investment Supervision Department, Ehimeme Ohioma, said the money in the Transition Contribution Funds (TCF) is N12 billion waiting for various beneficiaries to come forward and reclaim them.

He said the list of the beneficiaries has been published on the Commission’s website according to each PFAs where these funds are located expecting the people to go to the website, search their names and approach the PFAs for payment.

Ohioma listed some of the defunct institutions whose employees are yet to reclaim their funds including Julius Berger Construction Company, Diamond Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Citizen Bank, Mainstream Bank, and Oceanic Bank.

According to him, in September what the commission did was to put a list of all the beneficiaries of its website according to each PFAs where these funds are located and we expect these people to go the website, search their names and approach the PFAs for payment.

While urging the media to assist them in publicizing the information, he said “let us get these funds to them, even if it is 200,000 they will be happy if it is transferred to their RSAs.”

On the payment process, Ohioma clarified that PFAs are prohibited from making cash payments that it money must be transferred to RSAs of the beneficiaries, particularly for individuals working in other institutions with existing retirement saving accounts.

He said, “Virtually most of them are working in other institutions, and with their RSAs once they make documents available, the transfer can be done.”

The discovery of unclaimed funds, according to Ohioma, was attributed to recovery agents engaged by the commission, with the funds currently held by the PFAs.

Regarding pension payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), Ohioma assured that the commission consistently ensures pensioners receive their funds on or before the 25th of each month. He emphasized the importance of service delivery, stating that addressing contributors’ concerns is crucial for industry success.

Expressing concern about the limited investment windows for pension funds, Mr. Ohioma stated that the commission is actively engaging stakeholders in the capital market to address the issue.

Mr. Ehimeme Ohioma, listed adequate returns on investment, good service delivery, capacity and skilled workers as critical to the growth and survival of the industry.

Returns on investment, Ehimeme stated, must be above inflation, noting that if the returns are not above inflation, there will be a problem.

“There will always be problems but how well and soon the issues are addressed is critical to the success of the industry. There will always be complaints from the contributors but it lies with the regulator and operators to ensure the complaints are promptly treated.

“Service delivery is key and to ensure that the industry has efficient and effective service delivery the commission in 2022 increased the minimum regulatory capital for Pension Fund Administrators. This is to ensure they have enough capital to be able to have critical infrastructure as well as to be able to run their business efficiently well, be able to serve the public, have good staff and conducive offices.”

“Capacity is a continuous thing because the world is very dynamic. The skills of the industry practitioners both the operators as well as the commission need to be constantly upgraded to meet the acceptable standard, he added”