The Federal Regime on Monday verbalized that with the prosperity so far recorded in the pension industry over the last seven years, there was the likelihood that the industry’s assets would grow to N16tn in the next 20 years.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who verbalized this in Abuja at the aperture session of the World Pension Summit for Africa, noted that the aegis of pension assets and the payment of retirement benefits as at when due would always be the paramount objective of the Federal Regime
The President verbalized that from a deficit of about N2tn ($12.9bn) in 2004, the National Pension Commission had been able to accumulate total pension assets of over N4.21tn ($27.2bn) by March 2014.
He verbalized that as a mark of consequentiality that the regime placed on the industry, his administration last week signed the incipient Pensions Reform Act, 2014 into law.
Jonathan verbalized the incipient Act, which repealed that of 2004, sought not only to consolidate the gains of the reforms of the pension sector, but to withal identify the challenges militating against its contribution to national development.
The incipient Act, he integrated, would additionally provide the enabling licit environment to facilitate the engenderment of quality instruments through which pension assets could be best invested in infrastructure and authentic estate development.
He verbally expressed, “In 2004, the Pension Reform Act was enacted by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to address the recurring challenges experienced in the administration of pension and enhance efficiency in the system.
“This reform initiative established a contributory pension scheme for the public and private sectors. In 10 years, a sustained policy innovation and meticulous management has facilitated confidence and credibility in our pension system and administration.
“It withal invigorated our pension institutions as we transit from a deficit of about N2tn ($12.9bn) in 2004 to accumulate pension assets of over N4.21tn, which is about $27.2bn, by March 2014.
“You can visually perceive that within 10 years, if we could peregrinate from a deficit of about N2tn to a positive of N4.21tn, which is about $27.2bn; that signifies that we concur with the Coordinating Minister of the Economy that in another two decades, we should get up to $100bn.”
Going forward, the President verbalized the goal of the Federal Regime was to digitise pension payments and streamline payment procedures to ascertain prompt and facilitate of payment of pension benefits.
He called on PenCom to insert place the compulsory regulatory and supervisory framework to facilitate and expedite the objectives of the reform.
This, Jonathan verbally expressed, was vital, especially in ascertaining the safety of pension assets and workers’ security in retirement.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who additionally verbalized at the event, verbally expressed since sustainable economic development in any country required sizably voluminous long-term investment in infrastructure, agriculture, housing, edification, technology and health care; there was a desideratum to capitalize on pension assets.
She verbally expressed with a global asset value of over $70tn by 2013, institutional investors like pension funds now had the muscle to invest in authentic assets and to drive magnification.
The minister verbally expressed, “In Nigeria, we have grown from about $4bn in 2007 to $25bn now, and about 9.7 per cent of our old GDP and five per cent of our incipient GDP. We are situated to do more and with the emerging drive, we will be able to contribute significantly.
“We expect that two decades from now, Nigerians should be able to move its pension fund assets exceeding $100bn.”
Okonjo-Iweala, who lamented that the contribution of the sector in Africa was too low compared to other regions, noted that there was a desideratum to capture paramount proportion of the workforce, especially those in the informal sector.
She integrated, “We need to embolden countries to the contributory pension scheme. We have yet to harness the potential of pension as an instrument for development, especially in infrastructure where the finance gaps are astronomically immense.
“The trend in regime budget betokens that we have to look into pension funds for this kind of investible implements.”
Meanwhile, the President sympathised with the delegates to the summit for the pains they suffered in getting to Abuja following the two-day closure of the runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Majority of the delegates had landed at other airports closed to Abuja in order to attend the summit.
He, however, directed that a meeting be held by the Ministers of Finance, Aviation and the Federal Capital Territory to discuss the modalities for the commencement of the runway project by next year.
The President verbalized, “Let me additionally express my own concepts about some of you who came in to Abuja over the weekend and experienced the issues about the airport. We are just endeavoring to resurface the runway and that caused some of the quandaries you experienced.
“But I cerebrate the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the FCT minister and the Aviation minister must meet so that the Abuja second runway must commence next year.”
