Retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria have called for the full implementation of minimum pensions. The demand was communicated in a statement titled, “Demand for the full implementation of Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria,” signed by Matthew Shittu, the President of the Contributory Pensioners Union of Nigeria, Eleyele Branch, Ibadan.
In the statement, the retirees sought the support of key government officials, including President Bola Tinubu, the Chief of Staff of the Federation, the Senate president, and the director-general of the National Pension Commission.
The retirees highlighted their request for the inclusion of pensioners under the CPS in the current wage upward review, which raised the minimum wage to N30,000 for federal civil servants/retirees. They emphasized the need for a provision to be made for contributory pensioners in this regard.
The union expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for the timely release of funds and directed the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to ensure the prompt payment of CPS retirees. They also called for the immediate implementation of the pension increment based on 15 per cent and 33 per cent of 2007 and 2010, respectively, which is yet to be paid.
The retirees raised concerns about the non-disclosure of the template for calculating retirees’ benefits under the CPS. They demanded transparency in this regard and called for the calculation of all accrued interests on monetized amounts since July 2004 at the government’s official interest rate at the time.
Furthermore, the union requested representation on the forthcoming Pension Act Review Committee scheduled for 2024, emphasizing the need for stakeholders to be adequately represented in the decision-making process.
The retirees also urged that any entitlement due to retirees under the CPS should not be subject to pro-rating over a specified period. Instead, they insisted that delayed entitlements should be paid directly to the beneficiaries without further delay.
