The new pension residential policy introduced by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) is catalytic and could spur growth in other sectors, the President, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Olumide Oyetan, has said.

Oyetan, in a statement in Lagos, said the policy should boost the mortgage finance and home loan sector, in addition to having a positive effect on the construction value chain and building materials sector.

He said as pension operators, they believe it will create massive jobs for artisans and blue-collar workers involved in the construction value chain and also further open up the wealth management and financial planning industry.

Also, he said, RSA holders would plan to target RSA balance because they have a goal of owning a home.

He stressed that they were aware that the process of actualising the portion of the Pension Reform Act on mortgage has gone through many iterations and stakeholder engagement and that they were happy that it had been released.

He pointed out that while they realise that there might be some initial teething problems, they are excited and are primed to partner with the commission, RSA holders and other stakeholders to ensure that the policy actualises the reason it was set up.

Oyetan, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC PFA, added that the homeownership ratio and first-time home buyer statistics is low and they believe that the policy will help to improve this and also provide increased benefits to RSA holders in the immediate future.

He said: “Pension operators commends PenCom for the recent release of the guidelines that brings into effect the use of a portion of one’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) as equity contribution for obtaining residential mortgages.

“The provision for this had been part of the amendments that occurred when the Pension Reform act was amended in 2014.”