Pensioners Raise Reservations Over Challenges With Pension System

Nigerian pensioners have raised concerns over the inherent challenges facing the sector including the many far-reaching requirements that make it extremely difficult for retirees to access their retirement benefits.

The pensioners, especially those in the contributory pension scheme said they are still being subjected to all manner of inhuman treatment after retirement as a result of the rigorous processes involved in accessing their funds, be it programmed withdrawal or life annuity.

“I have my reservations on the challenges inherent in both the formal and informal (Micro Pension) operations such as the inability of the contributors to access their pension after retirement, occasioned by stringent conditions attached to it,” national president of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi said at a pension conference organized by Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PENCAN) yesterday.

Against the claim by the regulators and operators that the pension industry has been reformed to make the process of payment of gratuities and pensions seamless, Abumisi said the pensioners are still being confronted by unnecessary delay in the payment of death benefits to deceased families due to bureaucratic bottlenecks. “Examples abound,” he said, citing the instance of the death benefits of one of his staff who died about a year ago under the mandatory CPS and the benefits yet to be paid to his family due to excuses for over a year.

Such a devastating experience is very discouraging to intending contributors who would like to key into the micro pension programme for the fear that they might be subjected to the same excruciating experience.

Tagged: “Micro Pension Scheme in a Digitised Economy: Prospects and Challenges,” the conference was organised to discuss the future of micro pension scheme with a focus on creating awareness for wider adoption.

The micro pension plan was introduced in accordance with the pension reform Act 2014, which allows individuals working in organizations with fewer than three employees and self-employed individuals to voluntarily participate in the contributory pension scheme and save for their retirement.

The scheme currently has 97,000 registered participants with over N435 million contributions, four approved service providers introducing health insurance products, while expanding benefits, according to Pension Operators of Nigeria (PenOp).

Mayomikun Obadofin who represented CEO of PenOP at the conference said the micro pension scheme presents a significant opportunity for workers in the informal sector to secure their future through retirement savings. It offers flexibility in contribution amounts and frequencies, provisions for withdrawing a portion of the savings for unforeseen emergencies, and the option to convert from an informal to a mandatory plan when securing formal employment.

Assistant general manager at National Pension Commission, Ibrahim Garba Buwai said the commission has set up the framework for prompt payment of pensions without delays. He urged the pension operators to always ensure that requests from retirees are promptly settled.

Buwai who represented PenCom DG called for media collaboration to create the needed awareness for adoption of the pension scheme for the benefit of self-employed and semi and unorganized informal sector operators.