PenCom lists 28 states as not having set funds for pension payment
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
More workers who participated in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPI) retired across the country in the first quarter ended March 2022 (Q1 2022) but there is no guarantee of regular payment of their pension in 28 states.
National Pension Commission (PenCom) data shows that only Lagos, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are funding the accrued rights of retirees and paying pension under the CPS.
Jigawa, Kano, Gombe, and Zamfara operate under a different pension scheme.
The other states that are in the CPS have not made preparation or set funds for pension payment.
Data PenCom compiled in its “Status of implementation of the CPS by states” confirm that 25 states and the FCT have enacted laws on CPS and 15 of them have pension bureaux and boards.
They are Lagos, FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Benue, Kebbi, Niger, Rivers, Ogun, Bayelsa, Kogi, Anambra, Abia, Taraba, Imo, Sokoto, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Enugu, and Oyo.
States at the bills stage of joining the CPS are Kwara, Plateau, Cross Rivers, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, and Yobe.
“The Commission engaged the government of Rivers State, expressing concern over the state’s inability to take steps to fully implement the CPS in the state, in view of the impending commencement of retirement of employees of the state under the CPS as from 1 June 2022,” PenCom said.
“The Commission also engaged the government of Ogun State on the persistent non-remittance of pension contributions into the state employees’ RSAs [Retirement Savings Accounts] by the state, in view of the fact that employees of the state would start retiring under the CPS as from 1 July 2025.”
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Workshops and capacity-building
PenCom recounted that in Q1 2022, it carried out sensitisation workshops, capacity-building programmes, and held meetings with stakeholders, including Ekiti State Pension Commission officials who discussed CPS implementation challenges.
It said it made presentations at the pension management retreat organised by the FCT Area Councils Staff Pension Board in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, and the presentations were on CPS implementation challenges with emphasis on uncredited contributions, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
Achor Actuarial Services Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Pius Apere disclosed that the pension industry has been operating two pension regimes concurrently since 2004, which are Pay-As-You-Go defined benefit scheme (the old unfunded pension regime); and the CPS under the Pension Reform Act 2014 as amended.
“Nigerian pensioners have two basic expectations under the CPS, namely to have sustainable standard of living in retirement and receive their retirement benefits as and when due,” he added.
Apere said the failure of federal and state governments to remit accrued pension rights to individual retirees’ RSAs on a timely basis has increased the plight of pensioners because PenCom insists that retirement benefits would not be paid from RSAs without accrued pension rights being added.
