PenCom Pays N326.32bn As Retirement Benefits In 2021
Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, DG, PenCom
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has paid N326.32 billion as retirement benefits to beneficiaries in 2021.
The commission in its 2021 annual report explained that the payments comprised retirement benefits and a 25 per cent payout due to temporary loss of job.
It noted that pension contributions credited into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), of public sector employees from inception, grew from N3.43 trillion on December 31, 2020 to N3.93 trillion as of December 31, 2021.
According to the PenCom report, the public sector employers- federal, state and local governments contributed N492.43 billion as pension during the year under review, noting that the figure represented a 8.29 per cent decline (year-on-year) when compared with the N536.97 billion recorded in 2020.
The commission added that the cumulative pension contribution received from the private sector from inception to December 31, 2021 rose from N3.27trillion recorded in 2020 to N3.66trillion.
PenCom explained that the pension contribution credited into the RSAs of private sector employees increased slightly by 4.61 per cent from N371.12 billion in 2020 to N388.23 billion as of December 31, 2021, adding that total pension contributions remitted into the RSAs of employees dropped to N880.66 billion at the end of 2021.
The report said that investments in private equity funds dipped slightly by 0.24 per cent to stand at N38.87 billion from N38.96 billion.
Also PFA allocations to FGN securities stood at N9.01 trillion, a 2.67 per cent increase from N8.77 trillion in December 2021and investments in Federal Government securities accounted for about 63 per cent of the total pension fund.
The RSA fund II accounted for most of the fund contribution with N6.24 trillion, representing 43.7 per cent of the total pension funds, followed by RSA Fund III with N3.86 trillion, which represents 27 per cent of the total assets and existing schemes accounted for 10.1 per cent of the total funds, increased by N85.78 billion to stand at N1.44 trillion, while the CPFAs accounted for 10.7 per cent of the total funds, standing at N1.52 trillion as of the review period. Pension Fund Administrators increased their exposure in the Nigerian stock market in the first half of the year, with an additional N53.85 billion investment in the local bourse, bringing the total investments to N969.16 billion.
