HARSH ECONOMY: Sacked workers withdraw N9.2bn from pension savings
At the backdrop of sustained economic turbulence, a total of 14,179 Retirement Savings Account, RSA, holders who lost their jobs this year have withdrawn 25 per cent of their pension savings to sustain themselves and their families in the first half of 2024, H1’24.
According to the second quarter report released by the National Pension Commission, PenCom, the RSA holders withdrew N23.4 billion during the period.
However, the second quarter report indicates slower withdrawals as a total of 5,528 RSA account holders withdrew N9.2 billion in Q2’24, as against 8,651 RSA holders’ that withdrew N14.2 billion in the first quarter. But some industry observers attributed the higher number in Q1’24 to the usual beginning of the year financial pressures.
The PenCom report for Q2’24 stated: “Out of the 5,528 applicants whose benefits were approved, 5,223 were from the private sector, while the remaining 305 were from the public sector. The sum of N9.3 billion was approved for the 5,528 RSA holders under the age of 50 years.”
On residential mortgage financing, the report stated: “A total of 1,390 RSA holders requested to access up to 25% of their RSA balances towards payment of equity contributions for residential mortgage during the quarter under review. Approvals were granted to 1,234 requests amounting to N10.5 billion, while 156 were rejected due to incorrect documentations.
“Out of the 1,234 applicants whose benefits were approved, 379 were from the private sector, while the remaining 855 were from the public sector.”
On payment of death benefits, the report stated: “A total of 4,387 beneficiaries applied to access the death benefits of deceased employees/retirees. Out of that, 4,376 requests were approved, while eleven were rejected due to incorrect documentation. Out of the 4,376 death benefit requests approved, 807 were from the private sector, while the remaining 3,569 were from the public sector. A total of N29,318.98 million was approved for the 4,376 beneficiaries.”
