President Jonathan signs pension bill into law

President Goodluck Jonathan has signed the Pension Reform Bill 2014 into law.

The new law repeals the 2004 Pension Reform Act No. 2 and prescribes a 10- year jail term for pension thieves.

The Senate and the House of Representatives had, respectively, passed the new 2014 Pension Reform Bill which also accommodates employees of private firms in the contributory pension scheme.

According to postings on the Twitter handle of the presidential media aide, Reuben Abati, on Tuesday, the

new law, which covers private organisations with at least three or more employees, prescribes a 10-year jail term for anyone who misappropriates pension funds.

A working document of the pensions commission made available to Business- Day said that the new law also makes it mandatory for a refund by three times the amount embezzled by the thief.

BusinessDay