ANNONYMOUS: I want to remain annonymous. I retired in February 2013 from a Federal Government agency.
I was with Stanbic IBTC Pension before I embraced annuity with Leadway Assurance some years later. Please, I need clarification on the following issues. The first is: – What is 2.5 per cent about and am I entitled to it? Secondly, my monthly pension has not been enhanced since the inception of pension allowance enhancement; and thirdly, when will contributory pensioners enjoy allowance increment like the Defined Benefit pensioners?
PENCOM: Dear Sir, the 2.5 per cent was the differential in the rate of pension contributions for Federal Government employees from 2014 when the rate of employer contributions was increased to 10 per cent.
The pension enhancement applies only to retirees receiving pension under the programmed withdrawal method administered by the Pension Fund Administrators.
Therefore, being under Retiree Life Annuity, you do not qualify for pension enhancement.
PENCOM: Dear Okezie, you can visit www.pencom.gov.ng to read up on the pension enhancement. You can also visit the PFA to get more information.
IFEANYI: Good day, my name is Ifeanyi. I am from Anambra State. I am the next of kin to my wife, the late Chinyere. She worked at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State until her death on September 26, 2019.
The government has not paid her death benefit, until I finished processing her documents with Stanbic IBTC Pension on March 8, last year.
PENCOM: Please liasie with the Stanbic IBTC PFA to find out the status of the application.
ANNONYMOUS: Good day, I will like to know when retirees from the public service, who retired in March 2022, are to be paid.
PENCOM: Please provide more details such as name of the previous employer, PFA, PIN and status of enrolment.
EFE: Good day, my name is Efe. Your efforts to ensure retirees are not subjected to untold hardship on retirement are highly appreciated.
I want to know if you only attend to federal employees. I ask this question because I am a retired from the Local Government Service Commission, Asaba, the Delta State capital in October 2020.
I have not been able to access my RS, although my PFA, Trustfund Pension, sent me a text message that I could access my RSA, after presenting a letter from Asaba. I am confused.
Please do advise on what to do.
PENCOM: Please send your PIN to enable the Commission investigate your complaint.
UREGI: My name is Uregi. PenCom recently issued a circular on pension enhancement payment in which it indicated that “the exercise is for retirees under PW who have accumulated significant growth in their RSAs”.
This criterion appears confusing, and if left to PFAs, they could be subjectively implement it.
Therefore, every pensioner should enjoy an enhancement every three years, because pensioners’ funds should have been gainfully invested during intervals of the three years.
No pensioner would believe that his fund in the RSA was not invested for three years.
I retired in Febraury 2014, but I got enhancement only once – in 2017. I was denied an increment in 2020. I was also not convinced why I was excluded.
Surely, I must have expressed the mind of thousands of concerned pensioners.
Please provide us more explanation on this issue.
PenCom: The process is carried out by the PFAs under the approval of the Commission.