President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, signed the Pension Reform Bill 2014 into law, his spokesman, Reuben Abati, said. Abati disclosed this via his Twitter handle yesterday. The Senate had on April 8 unanimously passed the Pension Reform Bill which prescribed severe penalties including a 10-year jail term for defaulters. The Act also imposed a fine of N10 million on any pension fund administrator who failed to meet the obligations of the contributors, while each of the directors of the firm will pay N5 million each as fine.
[eap_ad_1] A document obtained from the National Pension Commission listed the major highlights of the Pension Reform Act 2014 to include: upward review of the penalties and sanctions, power to institute criminal proceedings against employers for persistent refusal to remit pension contributions, corrective actions on failing licensed operators and restructuring the system of administration of pensions under the defined benefits scheme. The Pension Reform Act 2014 also made provisions that will enable the creation of additional permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development, such as investment in the real sector, including infrastructure and real estate development. The Act expanded the coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the private sector organisations with three employees and above, in line with the drive towards informal sector participation as well as upward review of rate of pension contribution. The Act reviewed upwards, the minimum rate of Pension Contribution from 15% to 18% of monthly emolument, where 8% will be contributed by employee and 10% by the employer.
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