House Committee on Pensions invitation for members’ part of regulatory oversight – PENOP

The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PENOP) said the recent invitation of some of its members by the House Representative Committee on Pensions was normal and part of its regulatory oversight functions.

PENOP said the interactive meeting was to discuss the non-remittance of pensions by employers, the delay or non-payment of pension entitlements by pension fund operators, and general compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014.

The Pension operator’s body in a statement signed by Oguche Agudah, its CEO, said the attention of PENOP has been drawn to the recent media reports with respect to the House of Representative Committee’s invitation to some Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs).

“We wish to state that the report is misleading as it failed to convey the meeting’s true essence, which was for a routine interaction session with Honourable members in furtherance of their oversight functions.”

Agudah said that “the House Committee on Pensions had invited some Pension Fund Operators for an interactive meeting to discuss the non-remittance of pensions by employers, the delay or non-payment of pension entitlements by pension fund operators, and general compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014. The Committee also asked for some information to aid in their investigative hearing, which the pension operators duly provided.”

“We wish to state that we welcome interactions and inquiries by the Honourable members and, as always, provide our full cooperation, especially regarding proffering solutions to some of the challenges facing the smooth implementation in conformity with the Pension Reform Act 2014. We will continue to engage the honourable members and collaborate with them in the area of strict compliance with the Contributory Pension Scheme, Oguche said.

“We value the House members and their contributions towards improving the welfare of the Nigerian workers who contribute to their Retirement Savings Account monthly and we, the pension operators, are fully committed to ensuring that these individuals receive inflation-adjusted returns during their retirement, Agudah said.