PenCom approves N7.89b for contributors’ residential mortgages

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has approved a total of N7.89 billion to 649 contributory pension scheme (CPS) contributors seeking residential mortgages in the country.

This was revealed by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) at a media parley on the issue.

Data from the association also showed that the total fund under the CPS stood at 17.64 trillion as of October 2023, while contributions made by workers from both private and public sectors stood at over N9 trillion.

The Chief Executive Officer, PenOp, Oguche Agudah, said workers’ contributions accounted for 54 per cent. In comparison, the returns on investment accounted for 46 per cent of the entire pension fund assets.

Oguche also said workers’ contributions were invested and the returns were paid to the workers’ pension savings to reduce the effect of inflation on the funds.
According to him, as of the end of the third quarter of 2023, the PFAs had recovered N24.8 billion from defaulting employers,

The PenOp CEO noted that in the second quarter of 2023, N665.13 billion had been paid as a lump sum to annuity retirees, while N964.24 billion went to programmed withdrawal retirees, making a total of N1.64 trillion to 442,000 retirees.

He said that N208.86 billion was paid to 475,235 workers who lost their jobs before the official retirement age and could not get another job after four months.
However, the total death benefits paid to 91,214 beneficiaries, he said, amounted to N356.32 billion.

He said the expectations of the operators in 2024 and beyond are to celebrate 20 years of the Pension Reform Act, show greater focus on micro pensions, and also look into the revision of investment guidelines.

He added that the operators looked forward to more applicants and approvals for RSA mortgage, possible kick-off of offshore investment, and infrastructure consortium.