The Chairman of the House Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jalo, has said that plans were underway to amend the Pension Reform Act (PRA), which was last reviewed in 2014.
Jalo stated this at a stakeholders’ engagement session on the review of the PRA 2014, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions on Tuesday in Abuja.
Jalo urged stakeholders to outline potential review areas for the committee’s consideration.
The Clerk of the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said the workers of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASS) were advocating for a return to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Ogunlana said that rejoining the CPS was in a memorandum submitted to the committee.
He explained that the National Assembly Service Pensions Board (Establishment) Act, enacted in April 2023, created a separate pension board for its personnel, effectively removing them from the CPS under the PRA of 2014.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, acknowledged the need to review the PRA 2014.
She noted that such a review had commenced earlier, as contained in the memorandum submitted during the session.
Oloworaran recommended revisiting the resolutions reached during stakeholders’ consultations in 2022 to validate earlier positions and address emerging concerns.
She said the proposed amendments were aimed at improving lump sum payouts for retirees, adding that the commission supported a holistic review of Section 7(1) and (2) of the PRA 2014 to address issues around retirement benefits and ensure a more equitable framework for retirees.
The Director-General pledged to collaborate with the committee and the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to ensure a seamless and comprehensive review process.
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Tolulope Odunaiya, called for its recognition as a legal corporate entity in the proposed amendments.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr. Oguche Agudah, said the act was over 10 years old and was due for review due to critical developments in the pension sector.
Agudah said, “The review is for sustainability and economic development so that the pension sector operators can continue investing and also to ensure the independence of the regulator, PenCom.
”This is also to ensure nationwide coverage and growth, as only six states have total coverage.”
He added that the review remained essential to ascertaining that remittance of pension contributions was only done through recognised payment platforms.
