(Concluding part)
By Elonna AGUH, KSM
Since 2014 PenCom has made several unprecedented positive giant strides, with quantum achievements recorded by its current administration under the leadership and chairmanship of Dr. Oyindasola Oluremi Oni and his lieutenants.
Her path of growth has been a progressive one in a bid to capture as many people of pensionable age into the pension plan, especially the informal sector that is being captured through the Micro Pension Plan (MPP). Most recently, PenCom took the initiative to allow RSA holders to access mortgage facilities.
In a statement, PenCom informed all stakeholders and the general public, particularly RSA holders, that the commission has approved the issuance and immediate implementation of the Guidelines on Accessing RSA Balance towards Payment of Equity Contribution for Residential Mortgage by RSA Holders.
According to the commission, the approval is in tandem with Section 89 (2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014), which allows RSA holders to use a portion of their RSA balance towards the payment of equity for a residential mortgage.
Further to that statement, it said that for eligibility for this facility, the guideline covers pension contributors in active employment, either as a salaried employee or as a self-employed person.
Therefore, interested RSA holders (applicants) must meet the following conditions:
- Have an offer letter for the property duly signed by the property owner and verified by the mortgage lender.
- The RSA of the applicant shall have both employer and employee’s mandatory contributions for a cumulative minimum period of 60 months (five years)
- A contributor under the MPP is also eligible. Provided s/he has made contributions for at least 60 months (five years) prior to the date of his/her application; while RSA holders that have less than three years to retirement are not eligible.
- Married couples who are RSA holders are eligible to make a joint application, subject to individually satisfying the eligibility requirements.
- RSA holders, if registered before July 1, 2019, must have their records updated through the RSA data recapture exercise.
- Application for equity contribution for residential mortgage shall be in person and not by proxy.
According to the commission, the maximum amount to be withdrawn shall be 25 per cent of the total mandatory RSA balance as of the date of application, irrespective of the value of equity contribution required by the mortgage lender. In instances where the 25 per cent of a contributor’s RSA balance is not sufficient for payment as equity contribution, RSA holders may utilize the contingency portion of their voluntary contributions (if any).
On the other hand, to qualify as a mortgage lender for this purpose, the company must be duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), comply with the Contributory Pension Scheme and have a valid Pension Clearance Certificate.
The commission further stated that it shall publish the names of eligible mortgage lenders on its website. Therefore, interested RSA holders are advised to contact their Pension Fund Administrator (PFAs) for more information and guidance.
Prior to this recent guideline, the commission had recorded that at the end of June 2022, total pension assets under management by PFAs hit 14.2trilion, while the number of registered contributors stood at 9,795,957 million.
These achievements are attributed largely to the increasing number of registered contributors and the value of pension fund assets added to the dynamic and proactive strategies of its leadership. The reason for the recapitalization exercise was to ramp up the capacity of the PFAs to manage the increasing number of registered contributors and the value of pension fund assets.
Recall that PenCom had in 2021 increased the minimum regulatory Capital (shareholder’s fund) requirement of PFAs from N1billion to N5billion, and PFAs have since complied with the commission’s directives to increase their minimum capital during the exercise sometime between April 27, 2021, and April 27, 2022.
The savvy story of PenCom gets more interesting with each passing day. For instance, at the level of implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme, as at the first quarter of 2022, twenty-five (25) states had enacted pension laws on CPS, two (2) states were at the bill stage, and four (4) had adopted the Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme.
The commission is poised to continue engagements with PFAs through sensitization workshops and capacity-building programmes. This will continue to bring to the fore the much-needed awareness to encourage participation by persons of pensionable age and foster good relationships with the stakeholders.
The Savvy Story of PenCom will be incomplete without mentioning the names of the pillars behind her great feats.
The board is chaired by Dr. Oyindasola Oluremi Oni with Aisha Dahir-Umar as the Director General. Others are Dr. Umar Farouk Aminu, Commissioner Administration; Mr. Clement Oyedele Akintola, Commissioner Inspectorate; Anyim C. Nyerere, Commissioner Technical; Dr. Charles Sylvester Emukowhate, Commissioner Finance; Muhammad Sani Muhammed, Commission Secretary/Legal Adviser (CSLA); and Mrs. Omobola Tinuola Olusola-Dada, Rep of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget & National Planning.
Others are Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, Rep Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Mr. Edward L. Adamu, Rep of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Mr. Lamido Abubakar Yuguda, Rep of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria; Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas, Rep of the National Insurance Commission; Comrade Godwin Abumisi, Rep of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Comrade Dr. Bobboi Bala Kaigama, Rep of the Trade Union Congress; Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni, Rep of the Nigeria Labour Congress; Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, Rep of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Mr. Adewale Oyerinde, Director General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association.
***Sir Elonna Aguh, KSM, a public affairs analyst and commentator wrote from Lagos
