Business a.m.
Data published by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed a significant increase in retirement benefits paid out to retirees during the fourth quarter of 2023, with a total disbursement of N117.89 billion, representing a robust 22.88 percent uptick from the N95.94 billion disbursed during the third quarter of 2023.
PenCom attributed the notable rise in retirement benefits to a combination of higher lump-sum payments and annuity premium payments received during Q4’23.Â
The PenCom report also detailed that pension fund administrators processed a total of 6,598 requests for programmed withdrawal mode, a form of retirement benefit that allows retirees to withdraw their pension in instalments over time, as opposed to receiving a lump-sum payment.Â
PenCom’s report further disclosed that out of the 6,598 requests received for programmed withdrawal mode during Q4 ’23, a remarkable 6,592 were approved, while just six were rejected due to computation errors in lump-sum or monthly pension calculations.
The PenCom data shed further light on the demographic breakdown of the 6,592 approved retirees. Of these, 2,860 were from the private sector, while 3,732 were from the public sector, with the total lump-sum payments amounting to N34.38 billion and the monthly pension totaling N488.19 million.Â
PenCom’s statistics highlighted the competitive landscape of the Nigerian pension management industry, with Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers securing a firm foothold in the market and cementing its position as the market leader.Â
With 21,212 new contributors registered, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers maintained a 24 percent market share, while Access Pensions Limited trailed closely behind with 17,573 new contributors registered, representing a 19.9 percent market share. ARM Pension Managers Ltd, Leadway Pensure PFA Ltd and Premium Pension Ltd followed with 9.4 percent, 8.1 percent, six percent of the new registrations during the quarter respectively.
The domination of the pension management market by the top five PFAs is further highlighted by the fact that they collectively accounted for a staggering 67.39 percent of the total new RSAs registered during the fourth quarter of 2023, far outstripping the meagre 5.38 percent share held by the bottom five PFAs.
