In a statement released in Lagos, Oyetan stated that the policy would benefit the building materials and mortgage finance industries in addition to the construction value chain.

As pension managers, he claimed that they are confident that it will significantly increase the number of jobs for skilled tradespeople and blue-collar laborers involved in the construction value chain, as well as further expand the wealth management and financial planning sectors.

Additionally, he claimed that RSA holders will want to reach the RSA balance because they want to acquire a house.

He stressed that they were aware that the process of actualizing the portion of the Pension Reform Act on a mortgage has gone through many iterations and stakeholder engagement and that they were happy that it had been released.

He pointed out that while they realize that there might be some initial teething problems, they are excited and are primed to partner with the commission, RSA holders, and other stakeholders to ensure that the policy actualizes the reason it was set up.

Oyetan, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC PFA, added that the homeownership ratio and first-time home buyer statistics are low and they believe that the policy will help to improve this and also provide increased benefits to RSA holders in the immediate future.

He said: “Pension operators commend PenCom for the recent release of the guidelines that brings into effect the use of a portion of one’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) as equity contribution for obtaining residential mortgages.

“The provision for this had been part of the amendments that occurred when the Pension Reform act was amended in 2014.”

PenCom exists for the effective regulation and supervision of the Nigerian Pension Industry to ensure that retirement benefits are paid as and when due.

The DG was been quizzed by members of the House Committee on Finance when revealed the information.

According to Umar, “the total assets under management is now N14.5 trillion, made up of three funds: the retirement savings account fund, the Closed Pension Fund Asset (CPFA), and the Assets in Existing Scheme.

“Out of the N14.5 trillion, the RSA Fund is about N11 trillion, the CPFA has N1.5 trillion and the AES has about N1.4 trillion. These funds are in the accounts of the contributors.

It is not being kept by PenCom; it is not being kept by the pension fund administrators (PFAs). It is not anywhere but in the account of the contributors, just like the commercial banks.”

The head of PenCom noted that the organization was created to regulate the pension business and that its primary responsibility is to oversee and regulate all pension-related activities nationwide. As a result, it is not a revenue-generating organization.

Reacting to claims by the FRC that PenCom had been listed as a government revenue agency, Umar said: “If they have put us on the schedule, we have not been advised. In 2017, PenCom, as a responsible citizen, decided to be paying surplus, even though it was not on the list. And each time we pay, we get a commendation from the Ministry of Finance. So, even when we were not asked to pay, we paid.

“I want the committee to know that long before the Ministry of Finance included PenCom on its list, it was not a revenue-generating agency.

By the provisions of the establishment Act, all incomes earned from investments earned from the Retirement Savings Account are credited back to the RSA of the contributors. Nobody takes a single kobo from it…”