THE ANATOMY OF PENSION FRAUD IN NIGERIA: ITS MOTIVES, THE MANAGEMENT AND FUTURE OF THE NIGERIAN PENSION SCHEME

Amaka E. Agbata¹, Chizoba M. Ekwueme¹ and Edirin Jeroh²

¹Department of Accountancy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
²Department of Accounting, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria

The study determined how the administration of the Pension Scheme could be perked up in Nigeria through effective management that would reduce fraudulent practices apparent in the scheme. By following the precept of library research via the survey design, a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire was designed to educe primary information about pension matters from a sample of 435 knowledgeable respondents. The collected data were presented and analyzed. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested based on Multiple Regression Analysis models with the aid of Minitab version 17. The findings show that, despite the provisions of the Act (the Pension Reform Act - PRA), intents for committing Pension Fraud have not reduced to a significant extent. Also, the accumulated assets of pension funds have not been adequately diversified into profitable investment alternatives. Therefore, we recommend that, among other things, amendments should concertedly be made to the PRA to at least discourage acts of pension frauds by instituting severe punitive measures for culprits, while simultaneously inculcating moral ethics among public servants in Nigeria.

Keywords: National Pension Commission, pension funds, pension fraud, Pension Reform Act, pension fund administrators, pension fund custodians

JEL Classification: G23, G28, H55