Contributory pension assets hit N15.45trn in February 2023

By Cynthia Ezekwe

Assets under the contributory pension scheme increased by N1.68 trillion from N13.76 trillion as of the end of February 2022 to N15.45 trillion as of the end of February 2023.

PenCom disclosed this in its unaudited report on the pension funds industry portfolio for the period ended February 28, 2023, which  provided information on the approved existing schemes, closed pension fund administrators and retirement savings funds, including unremitted contributions at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and legacy funds.

According to the report, the number of retirement savings accounts (RSAs) stood at 9,919,281 in the period under review.

Aisha Dahir-Umar, the director general PenCom,while speaking on how the industry performed in 2022, noted that  the pension fund assets under management increased by N568.33bn from N14.42tn as of 30 September 2022 to N14.99tn as of 31 December 2022, despite the overwhelming head-winds in the global economic climate and the country’s challenging macroeconomic environment.

According to  Dahir-Umar, the performance in the growth of the assets under management (AUM) pointed to the fact that the pension industry would continue to deliver value and benefit to its stakeholders and the nation’s economy, while adding that PenCom stepped up its efforts to ensure sustainable investment of pension funds in alternative asset classes and structured infrastructure projects that met the strict requirements of the pension fund investments regulation.

She further noted that the industry will continue to put in efforts to ensure  diversification of investments in pension fund portfolio assets, while adding  that efforts were being made to ensure average annual pension fund returns for Retirement Savings Account (RSA) and legacy funds exceeded headline inflation.