In a transfer to clear the accrued pension of employees who retired from federal civil service, the federal authorities has, to date, settled about N1.2 trillion of its arrears to the involved retirees throughout the nation.
The cost made was from the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), exactly, in 2004 to the primary quarter of 2025 to make sure employees who retired below the federal civil service are receiving their month-to-month pension cost as and when due,
The unpaid accrued pensions have earlier denied retired federal employees entry to their contributions as accrued rights have to be paid into employees’ Retirement Financial savings Account(RSA), earlier than they are often allowed to attract a month-to-month pension. This method denied most retirees entry to their pension advantages when certainly they’ve cash of their RSA.
Nevertheless, within the final two years, the federal authorities has paid over N700 billion pension arrears, in its willpower to clear the pension backlog that has beclouded the brand new scheme.
To this finish, the federal authorities has now cleared the backlog until March 2025, leaving solely April and Might backlog to be attended to. On this vein, the federal government has additionally floated N750 billion pension bonds which might be instrumental in clearing the pension backlog.
That is as even because the Nationwide Pension Fee(PenCom) additionally introduces ‘Pension Increase,’ an initiative that’s anticipated to begin this month of June, with about 223,000 retirees anticipated to witness will increase of their RSAs, thereby, growing the month-to-month advantages cost from N8.2 billion to about N11.2 billion.
Talking on the 2nd Quarter PenCom Press Convention in Ikeja, Lagos yesterday, the director normal, PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran added that, the N750 billion pension bonds floated by the present administration below President Bola Tinubu, ensures that arrears are rapidly offset as rapidly as doable because the involved retirees are actually drawing their month-to-month pension as and when due.
She vowed that the fee remains to be partaking the federal government to offset the remaining arrears, promising contributors {that a} new daybreak beckons within the pension trade, below her administration.
On the pension enhance, she mentioned, solely the retirees below Programmed Withdrawal will profit from the initiative, noting that the enhance emanates from funding returns on pension property.
Warning violators of the Pension Reforms Act (PRA), particularly, erring employers who fail to remit the pension of their workers that their doom days are right here, she harassed that, the regulatory physique is partnering related stakeholders to make sure that firms with out pension plans for his or her employees had been outrightly disqualified from bidding for presidency contracts or companies within the personal sector.
She mentioned, PenCom is working with State governments to extend compliance on the state stage.
On his half, the pinnacle of Surveillance, PenCom, Abdulrahman Muhammad(A.M) Saleem, identified that, the pension fund property elevated by N820 billion inside 1 / 4 because it grew from N22. 51 trillion in December 2024 to N23. 33 trillion on the finish of the primary quarter of the 12 months, which is, thirty first of March, 2025.
He added {that a} sum of N294.40 billion had been accessed by employees who had been below the CPS however misplaced their jobs, between 2004 and the primary quarter of 2025, leveraging on the 25 per cent they had been allowed by regulation to entry, to take action. He acknowledged that about 538,237 retirees have to date benefited from this window.
We’ve bought the sting. Get real-time stories, breaking scoops, and unique angles delivered straight to your telephone. Don’t accept stale information. Be part of LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for twenty-four/7 updates →
