PenCom targets multi-fund investment structure with non-interest fund

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced a non-interest fund (fund VI) and issued an operational framework on it to pension contributors and retirees.

The Head, Corporate Communications of PenCom, Peter Aghahowa, made the disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos.

He said the initiative was in furtherance of the implementation of the multi-fund investment structure, which seeks to provide investment portfolio choices to pension contributors and retirees.

“The non-interest fund is a fund that complies with the provisions of Islamic commercial jurisprudence and any other established non-interest principles, as approved by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) or any other body constituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission from time-to-time.

“The FRACE has certified that the operational framework issued by the commission complies with non-interest (Shari’ah) finance principles,” he said.

According to him, all Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) are required to create and maintain the Non-Interest fund for interested Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.

Mr Aghahowa said that the fund would be separated into two funds for Active RSA holders and retirees, respectively.

“RSA holders in fund I, II, III and retirees in fund IV are eligible to move their RSA contributions to the non-interest fund (fund VI) by making a formal request to the PFA in line with the provisions of the RSA multi-fund implementation guidelines and section 7.6 of the investment regulation dealing with transfers between fund types within a PFA.

“The non-interest fund offers a viable alternative to the conventional interest-based financial instruments for pension funds investment,” he said.

The commission’s spokesperson said that further information on the non-interest fund could be obtained from the commission’s website and various PFAs.

Meanwhile, the Commission had developed an online application that automated the annual pre-retirement verification and enrolment exercise for retirees/prospective retirees of treasury-funded Federal Government MDAs.

The online enrolment application went live on 1September 1, 2021 and

tetirees and prospective retirees were given a deadline of October 29, 2021 to conclude the enrolment process.

“This is to inform all retirees and prospective retirees that the Commission has extended the timeline for the online enrolment exercise from October 29, 2021 to December 31, 2021 in order to ensure that all eligible persons complete the enrolment process.

“The following categories of employees of Federal Government treasury-funded MDAs are eligible to participate in the 2021 onlineverification and enrolment exercise:  employees who retired from January to October 2021;  employees who are due to retire from November to December 2021; and retirees that missed the previous enrolment exercises from 2007 to 2019,” it stated.

According to PenCom, the affected retirees/prospective retirees are required to visit PenCom’s website to initiate the online enrolment process by registering and capturing their employment details as well as uploading scanned copies of the required documents before proceeding to their respective Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) for the physical verification and enrolment.

The commission further called on Pension Desk Officer (PDO)/PFA-assisted registration: retirees/prospective retirees who are unable to complete the online registration to  approach the PDOs of their respective MDAs or visit their PFAs for assistance.