The value of Nigeria’s pension funds rose to N19.79tn in April, following a 0.47 per cent decline that it recorded in March.
According to the latest figure from the National Pension Commission, this is about a 0.60 per cent increase.
The value of the pension funds as of February stood at N19.76tn.
Similarly, the membership of the Retirement Savings Account also grew to 10,315,034 from 10,280,956 in March, signalling an increase of about 0.33 per cent month-on-month.
In dollar values, the pension funds stood at $14.88bn at the rate of N1,329.71/$ as of the end of April.
In March, the figure was $14.79bn, when the exchange rate had been N1,544.08/$.
The marginal dip in Nigeria’s pension funds in March was the first decline recorded in 18 months, according to Sunday PUNCH analysis.
Analysts blamed portfolio rebalancing by pension fund operators for the March decline.
The Chief Operating Officer of Investdata Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omordion, linked the dip to portfolio rebalancing activities of PFAs prompted by the changes in the interest rate environment between February and March.
Omordion said, “The decline observed in the pension fund can be traced to the portfolio rebalancing of PFAs. It should stabilise into the future.”
Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and the House Committee on Pensions had agreed to work together to tackle challenges in the pension industry.
That was one of the resolutions of the two-day retreat for federal lawmakers organised by pension fund operators in Lagos.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
