The National Pension Commission has approved the payment of N62.29 million to some retirees of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund.
This was disclosed by the commission in its fourth quarter, 2020, recently, noting that the commission had approved for payment of monthly pensions in the sum of N62,292,272.25 to 3,628 NSITF pensioners.
According to the report, the amount was paid to 3,628 pensioners while it also received transfer applications on behalf of 190 NSITF contributors and subsequently granted approval for transfer of the sum of N188.971 million to their Retirement Savings Accounts during the quarter under review.
The commission said it approved a refund of the sum of N2.789 million to 50 personnel of the military and other security agencies, who were exempted from the CPS.
According to the report, the commission also received a total of 1,900 applications from private sector organizations for the issuance of Pension Clearance Certificates (PCCs).
It noted that out of this number, PCCs were issued to 1,877 organizations while 23 applications were declined due to the inability of the organizations to meet the requirements for issuance of certificates.
On remittance, the records show that a total sum of N9.87 billion was remitted into the Retirement Savings Accounts of 41,923 employees of the 1,877 organizations, just as the commission recovered N553.03 million from defaulting employers.
The report states: “Following the issuance of demand notices to defaulting employers whose pension liabilities had been established by the Recovery Agents (RAs), the sum of N553.033 million, representing the principal contribution of N382.462 million and penalties of N170.571 million, was recovered from 19 defaulting employers during the quarter under review.”
PenCom noted that it conducted an off-site examination of PTAD during the quarter under review, adding that in the same vein, it continued to monitor the payment of pensions to public service retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme through monthly statutory returns rendered by the PTAD.
The report also revealed that the micro-pension scheme received a boost during the period, as under 20 Pension Fund Administrators registered 3,663 contributors under the Micro Pension Plan.
“In the same vein, a total sum of N25.024 million was remitted to the RSAs of the contributors within the review period,” the report noted.
A review of the monthly reports of the pension operators revealed that 5.1 million RSAs had incomplete documentation as of the quarter under review.
Nonetheless, the engagement of agents to conduct data recapture on behalf of all the PFAs is expected to address this issue and validate all relevant documents under the profile of individual RSA holders.
Another notable outcome of the review of the monthly reports was the un-credited pension contributions domiciled in the Contribution Reconciliation Accounts and the Transitional Contributory Funds of the Pension Operators.
The commission, however, mandated the pension operators to ensure resolution of all outstanding un-credited contributions and file progress reports at regular intervals.
