The National Pension Commission has pushing for the success of the equity contribution mortgage that provides housing for first time owners following the approval of 34 mortgage banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria, however, PenCom realises that its eagle eye sign in is not enough without same level of commitment from other parties.
Expecting the same dimension of thorough and unhinged involvement, PenCom is imploring all parties to the deal to ensure due diligence checks to preserve the integrity of the process.
The views of the Commission were contained in the “Highlights of Guidelines on Accessing RSA Balance Towards Payments of Equity Contribution for Residential Mortgage by RSA Holders” presented by Ibrahim Kangiwa, Head, Investments at a media parley hosted by Pension Operators of Nigeria (PenOp) last weekend in Lagos.
Kangiwa said the objective is to provide housing for first time home owners and improve the standard of living of RSA holders under the CPS by facilitating their ownership of residential homes during their working life. The guidelines took its bearing from section 89 (2) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 which allows RSA holders to apply a percentage of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balances as equity contribution for contribution for residential mortgage subject guidelines issued by the Commission
Reiterating PenCom stand for the success of the equity contribution of 25% of RSA balance for first time house owners he was unambiguous, “Stakeholders must work together to ensure effective implementation of the guidelines.”
On a flip back on the history of the journey to the release of the guidelines, Kangiwa said it started over eight years ago before the passage of Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 and the Commission had explored a number of options that would enable it deliver ‘measurable impact in the economy, especially focusing on infrastructure and housing.
For the employers, he emphasised they should ensure that contributions are deducted and remitted on time as required by law.
PenCom is confident that the equity contribution housing deal which is set to flag off following the release of approved mortgage firms to the Commission by the CBN is the rail road that would unleash housing incentives that would encourage people to voluntarily register for the CPS or the micro pension scheme.
