The National Pension Commission has empowered Pension Fund Administrators to appoint external auditors and actuaries for Approved Existing Schemes and Additional Benefits Schemes. This was indicated in the latest circular from the pension industry regulator directed at all licensed PFAs, signed by the Director of the Surveillance Department, A. M. Saleem. PenCom revealed that the directive followed the failure of the Trustees/Sponsor Companies of the pension schemes to appoint external auditors and actuaries for the schemes as mandated by law. Section 50(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 states that “an employer operating any Defined Benefits Scheme shall undertake, at the end of every financial year, an actuarial valuation to determine the adequacy of its pension fund assets.” Similarly, Section 2.1(3) of the Framework for the Establishment of ABS issued by the Commission mandates Trustees/Sponsor Companies of AES/ABS to appoint an actuarial firm and external auditor to undertake an actuarial valuation and audit of the scheme, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 50(2) and 66(2) of the PRA 2014.

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