The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced a fresh upward review of the minimum capital base for Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) in a bid to further safeguard the resilience of the pension sector.
The commission disclosed this in a circular signed by Mr Saleem Abdulrahman, Director of Surveillance Department, PenCom.
It said that the review was carried out following the Pension Reform Act 2014 and in line with global best practices.
The circular read, “PFAs will now be required to maintain capital levels proportionate to their Assets Under Management (AUM), while PFCs will align their capital thresholds with Assets Under Custody (AUC).
“For PFAs, operators with AUM of N500 billion and above will be required to maintain a minimum of N20 billion, plus one per cent of the excess above N500 billion.
“Also, PFAs with AUM below N500 billion are to maintain a capital base of N20 billion.”
The commission further disclosed that special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Ltd. would require N30 billion, while the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Ltd. would maintain N20 billion.
“The minimum capital for new PFA licences was pegged at N20 billion with immediate effect.
“Similarly, the capital requirement for PFCs has been raised from N2 billion, set in 2004, to N25 billion plus 0.1 per cent of AUC.
“New PFC licences will also attract a minimum capital requirement of N25 billion.
“PenCom explained that the adjustments were necessary to reflect the exponential growth of pension assets, the increasing complexity of operations, and the need for robust technology, cybersecurity and improved service delivery.”
Operators have until Dec. 31, 2026, to fully meet the revised requirements.
The commission noted that compliance checks would be carried out every two years through audited financial statements.
It added that any deficiencies discovered during the reviews must be corrected within a 90-day period.