President Goodluck Jonathan
| credits: File copy
| credits: File copy
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday signed the Pension Reform Bill 2014 into law at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The new law, which is meant to govern and
regulate the administration of the uniform pension scheme for both
public and private sectors in Nigeria, repeals the Pension Reform Act,
No.2, 2004.
The Bill was passed into law by the Senate on June 3, 2014 and the House of Representatives on May 27, 2014.
The brief signing ceremony was witnessed
by Vice President Namadi Sambo; Minister of Justice and Attorney-General
of the Federation, Mr. Muhammed Adoke (SAN); acting Director-General,
National Pension Commission, Chinelo Anohu-Amozu.
The highlights of the new law include the
power vested in the pension commission to institute criminal
proceedings against employers for persistent refusal to remit pension
contributions.
The 2014 Act empowers PenCom, subject to
the fiat of the AGF, to institute criminal proceedings against employers
who persistently fail to deduct and/or remit pension contributions of
their employees within the stipulated time.
This was not provided for by the 2004 Act.
The new law also reviewed upward the
penalties and sanctions, having discovered that those provided under the
old law were no longer sufficient deterrents against infractions of the
law.
The new law allows PenCom to revoke the
licence of erring pension operators but does not provide for other
interim remedial measures that may be taken by PenCom to resolve
identified challenges in licensed operators.
Accordingly, the Pension Reform Act 2014
now empowers PenCom to take proactive corrective measures on licensed
operators whose situations, actions or inactions jeopardise the safety
of pension assets.
This provision further fortifies the pension assets against mismanagement and/or systemic risks.
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