FG to release N4bn as pension for professors, perm secs

The Federal Government is set to release N4bn to kick-start the payment of full salaries as minimum pensions for some categories of retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

This move was as mandated by the Pension Reform Act 2014.

Some retired professors and public office holders under the Contributory Pension Scheme who are not earning monthly pensions equivalent to their last salaries while in active service will soon start earning their last salaries as monthly pensions, investigation has revealed.

A senior official of the National Pension Commission, who disclosed this to Journalist said that PenCom had finished work on the guidelines to commence the payment as stipulated by the Pension Reform Act 2014.

He said, “We have done the budget and we are waiting for the government to release the money. We need just N4 billion to pay them including their arrears.”

He said the Federal Government was already paying N4 billion on a monthly basis for accrued rights and had also raised the monthly payment for the accumulated arrears of retirees to N14 billion.

While explaining how the minimum pension would work for the beneficiaries, he said, “If the balance in their Retirement Savings Accounts is enough to pay them their last full salaries as monthly pensions, then the government will not intervene.

“But the government will come in and pay the shortfalls for those whose RSAs’ balance is not enough to pay them their last full salaries as pensions.”

For example, he added, “If a Permanent Secretary earned N1m as his last salary and his RSA can only pay him N400,000 a month, the government will provide the N600,000 shortfall so that the Permanent Secretary will get his full salary at retirement as his pension. The N400, 000 will be from his RSA.”

Immediately the government release the money, he said, PenCom would start the payment.