Since the Pension Reform Act gave birth to the current pension system 18 years ago, the Federal Government has not borrowed money from any Pension Fund Administrator in the nation, the National Pension Commission reported on Tuesday.
According to the commission, the explanations were made to address criticisms and rumors spread in some circles that a significant portion of the government’s ongoing spending was funded by borrowing from pension funds.
This was said by Alhaji Abdulqadir Dahiru, the head of corporate services at the National Pension Commission, at a stakeholders’ forum and interactive session that was sponsored by the Public Complaints Commission and had as its theme, “Effective administration of the contributory pension scheme in Nigeria: Challenges and the way forward.”
He insisted that the government had not accessed pension funds.
He claimed that the investment teams of PFAs sought out and invested money in government bonds to balance their return and risk considerations, rather than the government borrowing from pension funds.
“The speculation that the government is borrowing from the Pension Fund is a threat to the contributors. The safety of the fund is paramount to contributors and other stakeholders alike.” some forum participants had stated.
But Dahiru, who allayed the worries, assured them the money was secure.
“Pension funds are invested in government securities like banks, insurance companies, and foreign investors who are interested in government debt,” he stated,
The interactive discussion with stakeholders in the pension industry was required, according to the secretary, Philip Enyali, because the numerous retirees complained to the Ombudsman and the necessity to resolve them.
He highlighted a few of the complaints made by retirees to the ombudsman, including the government’s inability to release funds as and when due, the delay in payment of group life insurance policies, and the non-funding of Retirement Savings Accounts, the inadequacy of pension payment remittances, etc.
