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From Uche Usim, Abuja
To swell their fortunes and offer excellent returns on investments, pension operators in Nigeria are eyeing offshore investment of pension contributors’ funds to expand their portfolios.
The operators on the platform of Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) said modalities were being fine-tuned with necessary regulatory bodies like the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Chief Executive Officer of PenoP, Oguche Agudah made the disclosure on Tuesday at a virtual session tagged “Ask Me Anything” organized by the Operators to create awareness on activities and operations of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the country.
He said: “For now, all pension funds are invested onshore. However, there are engagements ongoing with the regulators and once all modalities are put in place, we will commence offshore investments of pension funds,”
Agudah explained that Retirement Savings Account holders get returns of Investments credited to their account because “Pension Fund Administrators have investment in different sectors whether bonds, treasury bills, capital markets among others in line with the laid down guidelines by the regulators, which is PenCom,”
The PenoP CEO, while responding to an enquiry on how individuals who left the country can access their pensions, noted that “RSA holders can access their funds anywhere in the world using the cross border arrangement policy in line with regulations of the scheme,”
On programmed withdrawal for RSA holders, he said “Immediately a holder resigns or retires from work before attaining the age of 50, he/she can access 25 per cent of his/her RSA savings after four months after the PFA has confirmed and the rest will be spread across once the holder attains 50 years of age,”
He said the notion that “Pension is a scam” is just a myth by people who don’t have a clear understanding of what the Contributory Pension Scheme is all about, adding that the sector currently stands as one of the most strictly regulated in Nigeria where contributors are guaranteed that their monies are safe.
