- The annual contributory pension remitted on behalf of Nigerian workers in 2023 declined to N2.94 billion when compared to N89.48 billion remitted in 2022. The number of employees on whose behalf the contributory pension was remitted to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) also fell to 20,944 as against 77,484 individuals in 2022, analysis of the Pencom compliance lists 2023 and 2024 has revealed.
On the average, while it was N1,154,759 that was remitted per employee in 2022, that of 2023 fell to N140,194 per employee, our analysis further shows.
A deep analysis regarding the causes of the decline in annual pension remittances pointed to the absence of leading firms in Nigeria from the 2024 compliance list.
According to the Pencom documents, firms such as MTN Nigeria, Julius Berger, Stanbic Group, FBN Holdings, FCMB Group, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, GT Bank, among others, which were the leading firms in terms of pension remittances, are conspicuously absent in the 2024 compliance list, thus causing a steep fall in the total annual pension remitted and the number of employees benefiting from the scheme.
On the 2023 compliance list for pension contributions remitted in 2022, Nigeria’s telecoms market leader, MTN Nigeria, remitted N2.72 billion on behalf of 1,732 employees, amounting to an average of N1.57 million per employee. Its record of remittance is not on the 2024 compliance list for pension remitted in 2023.
Construction giant Julius Berger remitted N2.73 billion on behalf of 12,796 employees in 2022, confirmed by the compliance list released in January 2023. This amounted to an average remittance of N213,701.91 per employee.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings and its subsidiaries featured prominently in the 2023 compliance list. In that year, Stanbic IBTC Holdings remitted N276.95 million on behalf of 293 employees, representing N945,226.87 per employee.
Stanbic IBTC Capital remitted N59.65 million on behalf of 45 employees, translating to N1.33 million per employee. Stanbic IBTC Brokers remitted N24.88 million on behalf of 24 employees, amounting to N1.04 million per employee, just to mention a few. Within the Stanbic IBTC Group, none passed the compliance test in 2023 as revealed by the 2024 compliance list from Pencom.
Further, Zenith Bank remitted N3.63 billion in 2022 for 9,066 employees, translating to N400,135.14 per employee. Its record of remittance in 2023 is missing on the compliance list published by Pencom this January.
The same goes for FCMB Group, which remitted N14.08 million on behalf of 21 employees. In addition, FCMB Capital Market remitted N12.56 million on behalf of 14 employees. However, both institutions are missing from the compliance list in 2024.
Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holdings, among others are other blue-chip companies in the country missing on the 2024 pension compliance list as released by the industry regulator, Pencom in January 2024.
An enquiry sent to Pencom on why these companies are missing on the 2024 compliance list was yet to be responded to by the time of filing this report.
However, Pencom admitted some institutions failed the compliance test when it carried out its half-year 2023 surveillance of the industry.
“Relatively, the activities of the Licensed Pension Operators were in compliance with extant legislation and sub-legislations. However, some observed lapses with regards to huge uncredited contributions, service delivery and maintenance of contributors’ records, were highlighted during the Examination and are being addressed by the operators,” Pencom stated in 2023.
Notwithstanding the non-compliance of some blue-chip companies, the total pension assets in the country continue to grow, reaching new highs in recent times.
As of December 2023, the total pension assets in the industry rose to N18.36 trillion, representing a 22.4 percent rise over N14.99 trillion worth of pension assets as of December 2022.
In terms of asset classes, the total pension fund in the country is made up of FGN Securities, N11.92 trillion; corporate debt securities, N1.91 trillion; money market instruments, N1.67 trillion; domestic ordinary shares, N1.57 trillion; foreign ordinary shares, N202.18 billion; infrastructure fund, N143.37 billion; real estate, N263.44 billion; private equities, N71.766 billion, and cash and other assets, N220.13 billion.
Existing scheme is worth N2.1 trillion; CPFAs, N1.94 trillion; Fund 1, N151.36 billion; Fund II, N7.80 trillion; Fund III, N4.94 trillion; Fund IV, N1.36 trillion; Fund V, N731 million; Fund VI, N46.41 billion as well as Fund VI Retiree, N5.61 billion.
