The Federal Government is insensitive to the plight of pensioners, some federal retirees have said.
The reirees who retired between 2015 and 2016 under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), made their complaints known in various interviews with The Nation.
The retirees from various agencies and parastatals accused the government of not remitting their accrued rights and pension contributions into their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) account managed by their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) when they were in service. They complained that this had resulted in the non-payment of their pension benefits by PFAs since they retired in 2015.
They appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise pension payment.
Interim Association of Contributory Pension Scheme Pensioners President, Comrade Matthew Shittu, said: “While we are not against the idea of investing pension funds in viable ventures that are characterised by open and transparent transactions, it is worth stating that investing pension funds should not assume the primary mandate of the new scheme far above the payment of pensioners as at when due.
“For the records, the Scheme was introduced in 2004 to address the then increasing pension burden on the Federal Government with the attendant inability of government to pay pensions as at when due.
“The objectives of the new scheme according to the Pension Reform Act 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014 is to ensure that every person who works in the public sector receives his or her retirement benefits as and when due, assist individuals to save in order to cater for their livelihood during old age. The reform is also expected to establish a uniform set of rules, regulation and standards for administration of pension regime in the country and stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities in Nigeria pension system.”
Shittu said it was sad that PenCom officials only focused attention on investing pension funds instead of also ensuring that pensioners get paid promptly.
“This is January 2017; pensioners who retired in 2015 under CPS are yet to receive one kobo from PenCom, despite that N5.96 trillion had been declared as the buildup funds under the scheme.
“The primary concern of this letter is not to oppose the idea of investing pension funds in legitimate and credible ventures but to invite your kind attention to the potential threat facing the built up funds if care is not taken and to remind the authority of the overriding need to pay the long suffering pensioners their retirement benefits before all other transactional considerations,” he added.
A retiree of Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mohammed Bako lamented that he completed verification in 2015 but that he had not received any payment.
He said: “I completed verification in 2015 but up till now, I have not received any payment. If I go to my PFA, NLPC Pension; they referred me to PenCom and when I got to PenCom, they will tell me to exercise patience; this is what has been happening and I wonder how long I have to wait.
“President Buhari should prioritise pension and the fact that there is recession is the more reason why we should earn our pension without delay. I need my benefits to enable me afford payment of drugs for my son who is receiving kidney treatment in National Hospital Abuja. He has undergone three dialysis now and I need to do more to save his life.”
A retiree who identified himself simpy as Ndu said the Federal Government should explain the cause of the delay in the release of accrued pension to PFAs.
He noted that since he retired as a civil servant more than one year, his contributions had not been released to his PFA.
Another retiree, Dr. Yaya said: “I was told by my PFA that my accrued right that is yet to be remitted into my RSA was delaying my payment. Who is responsible for this and how long will it take such body to remit it my money?‘’
PenCom Director-General, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, explained that accrued rights are the funds that are due to a retiree for his service with the Federal Government prior to the commencement of the Pension Reform Act 2004.
“The Federal Government has been remitting the five per cent of the wage bill that has to be paid in to the Retirement Benefit Bond Redemption Fund Account (RBBRF) at the Central Bank.
“However, recently there have been financial constraints, which has delayed the payments of more funds into this account