- The National Pension Commission (PenCom) disclosed taking steps to ensure pension increments for public servants, as outlined in Nigeria’s Constitution
- The Nigerian Union of Pensioners in Kaduna State raised concerns over the "pathetic" state of retirees, advocating for pension reviews to ensure fairness
- The Federal Government's lack of action has left many retirees in challenging situations, prompting calls for intervention from civil society organisations
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed its efforts to facilitate pension increments for retired public servants, as mandated by the Nigerian Constitution.
PenCom to ensure pension increments for retirees
This was disclosed by PenCom's acting Director General, Ms Omolola Oloworararan in Lagos. She mentioned, “We are working to ensure that pensioners under the CPS and other pension arrangements benefit from pension increments provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) Secretary in Kaduna State, Alhassan Musa, recently labelled the state of retirees as “pathetic.”
According to Musa, who is the NUP secretary for the 19 Northern states and the North-West, only the retirees in Kaduna State receive a minimum monthly pension of N30,000.
NUP proposes pension increment in alignment with N70k minimum wage
The secretary noted that the Kaduna state government established N30,000 minimum pension in 2020 during the tenure of Governor Nasir el-Rufa’i.
He said, “The union proposed a 50 per cent increment even under the defunct N30,000 national minimum wage.
“We are anticipating that the 50 per cent increase would be approved in line with the new N70,000 national minimum wage. Even under the Federal Government, some pensioners are receiving N10,000 minimum pension.
“We are hoping that the Federal Government will balance it up so that no pensioner will receive less than N70,000 as his/her monthly pension.
“Let pensioners also enjoy the same benefits the workers are enjoying. “If a worker is receiving N70,000 minimum salary, so, let the pensioner enjoy the same.
Retirees from contributory pension schemes face difficulties
Musa stated that retirees from the contributory pension scheme (CPS) are encountering significant difficulties, emphasising that, “Honestly, these people are facing a lot of challenges because some of them retired in the last 10 years, and have yet to draw their benefits.
“It is really pathetic, this is happening in Kaduna and other states.
“Even under the federal government, those who retired under the contributory pension scheme are suffering as their accruals are yet to be remitted into their accounts.
1999 constitution guarantees pension reviews every five years
The 1999 Constitution ensures pensioners' rights to pension reviews every five years. Regrettably, the Federal Government and the FCT Minister have not fulfilled this constitutional requirement.
The Pension Reform Act of 2014 is tasked with regulating and supervising the administration of pension schemes, ensuring effective management of retirement benefits in Nigeria.
So far, PenCom has not implemented specific rules or guidelines regarding pension reviews for federal government employees or those working under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Nigerian Union of Pensioners advocates for constitutional pension provisions
The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has been advocating for the implementation of the Constitutional provisions.
Consequently, there is a growing demand for non-state actors, especially civil society organisations (CSOs), are being urged to bring public interest claims before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria
This is to ensure that the Federal Government and the Minister of the FCTA fulfil their obligations as outlined in the Constitution, via PenCom and the Pension Transitional Administration Department (PTAD).
Naira devaluation pushes IOCs pension managers to increase stake in offshore instruments
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the continued devaluation of the Naira had pushed pension managers of IOCs to increase their investments in foreign instruments.
According to Nigerian pension laws, only foreign-affiliated PFAs can invest offshore. This has led to calls from local PFAs to be allowed to invest some of their assets abroad to hedge against inflation and further naira devaluation.