By Godwin Oritse
THE management of the Nigerian Maritime Adminitration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has invested over N2.5 billion of its pension funds in five commercial banks with a view to meeting the fund’s deficit of over N5 million.

Disclosing this to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions who visited the agency Director of Administration and Personnel, Mr. Peter Mgbemena said that the agency’s pension scheme has passed through three stages of developments since its inception.

He explained that before now the scheme had gone through the Insured Pension scheme managed by NICON Insurance, then the internally managed Pension Scheme in line with the Pension Act of 1979.

The scheme, according to Mgebmena, is currently being imple-mented under the new pension reform Act of 2004.

The banks in which the funds are currently invested includes Afribank Plc with a fixed deposit of over N1.9 billion; Access Bank with another fixed deposit of over N228 million; and a call deposit of N9.2 million.

Others  are Interconti-nental bank Plc with a fixed deposit of N24 million; N50 million fixed deposit in Access Bank, while about N124 million is with Future View securities against N195 million in equity holdings.

The Head of Admin and Personnel further explained that a total of N450 million was budgeted for the payment of pensions in 2009, while over N12 million was also paid as death benefits to the families of dead workers.

Part of the report presented to the Committee reads: “Records on these monthly payment shows that N144.3 million was paid to between 163 and 170 pensioners from January to December of 2009.

“The sum of N154.1 million was paid as 7.5% Employer pension contribution.

“From this, it can seen that there is a surplus of N151.5 million.

“NIMASA, as a government agency managing a pension fund under the old pension scheme for the purpose of providing comfortsble life to retirees of the agency, has the responsibility of ensuring the prompt payment of pensions and supporting the pensioners in their general well being.

“In line with this, it is important to state that the agency is in constant touch with its retirees through the NIMASA Pensioners Association in respect of their well being.

“No pensioner is owed any arrears and monthly pension payments are made as at when due.”
The Committee, led by its Deputy Chairman, Honourable Joseph Gunbari, commended the agency for having a crisis-free pension management scheme, but queried the accruals and time periods of these investments.

The Committee also wanted to know the actual value of the these investments following the crash in the financial sector in recent times.