The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Rep. Hussaini Jalo, has announced plans by the House to update the Pension Reform Act, which hasn’t been revised since 2014.
He shared this news during a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Tuesday, where he encouraged everyone involved to suggest areas that could be improved in the law.
At the interactive session, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana,
mentioned that employees of the National Assembly Service Commission are pushing to return to the contributory pension scheme.
He said that they expressed this wish in a formal proposal submitted to the House committee.
Ogunlana explained that a new law, created in April 2023, set up a separate pension board for National Assembly workers, which means they have been taken out of the contributory pension scheme.
However, he noted that this new pension board has not started its work yet, and recent changes have shown that the staff’s attitude towards pensions may be shifting.
Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran stressed the need to look at the Pension Reform Act again and mentioned that this review had already begun, as shown in the proposals discussed during the session.
Oloworaran, who was represented by the commission’s Secretary, Muhammad Muhammad, suggested revisiting previous discussions from last year to ensure that new concerns are addressed.
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The proposed changes aim to improve the amount of money retirees receive when they leave work.
Oloworaran also expressed her support for a thorough review of certain sections of the law to make retirement benefits fairer for everyone.
She assured that PenCom would work together with both the House committee and the Senate committee to ensure that the review process is smooth and effective.
Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Tolulope Odunaiya, called for PTAD to be officially recognised as a legal entity in the upcoming amendments.
Mr. Oguche Agudah, who leads the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), highlighted that the Act is over a decade old and needs updates due to significant changes in the pension field.
He stressed that these updates are essential for ensuring sustainability and growth in the pension sector and to keep the regulatory body, PenCom, independent and effective.
Furthermore, he pointed out that only six states currently have full pension coverage, making it vital to ensure that pension contributions are collected through approved methods.