Investing pension assets offshore’ll be more profitable – Aganga

Former Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga has revealed that following the devaluation of the naira and rising inflation in the country, it has become imperative for Nigerian pension fund managers to invest a portion of their assets offshore and in index/inflation-linked instruments.

Aganga who spoke at a training organised for board members and directors of pension fund operators in Nigeria, which was organised by PenOp and FITC in conjunction with PENCOM said, the devaluation of the naira and rising inflation could lead to an erosion of earnings for the pension funds and subsequently old age poverty for pensioners and retirees.

He said the industry needs to get this going as soon as possible to protect the gains of the pension reforms and truly provide financial security for retirees.

Speaking further, he said, there was a need for the directors of pension funds to “Work together with the state governments, the National Executive Council, and the federal government to ensure that more states get on board the contributory pension scheme and to ensure that those states already on the scheme remit both employer and employee contributions to the pension fund administrators as and when due.”

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Aganga, who is also the chairman of Leadway Pension PFA noted that “It was quite regrettable that some states were deducting pension contributions from their employees but were not remitting them, which he said does not augur well for the future of Nigerian workers and should be discouraged.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, Oguche Agudah said the forum was an opportunity for directors of pension fund operators to come together and work towards the growth of the industry.