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  • Federal Govt proposes N1.38tr for pensions this year

    Federal Govt proposes N1.38tr for pensions this year

    The Federal Government has proposed N1.376 trillion for pensions, gratuities and retirees’ benefits in this year’s  Appropriation Bill currently before the National Assembly.

    The subheads under which the pensions, gratuities and other reliefs for retirees are captured are: Office of the Head of Civil Service (Civilian Pension) N94,538,656,847; Military Pensions and Gratuity (DMP), N486,039,965,366; National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) – Military Retirees, N3,571,846,330; Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Civilian Staff Pension and Gratuity, N6,610,178,920 and  Department of State Security, N28,611,520,421.

    Others are the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, N23,538,022,433; Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, N285,586,345,534; Police Pensions and Gratuities, N18,533,472,973; Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office, N18,409,612,175 and  Universities Pension, Including Arrears, N13,120,357,752.

     Parastatals Pension and Railway Pensions are projected to consume N194,686,375,535; NELMCO, 17,548,870,129; National Pension Commission (PENCOM), N427,039,429,838  and other pensions N20,964,110,103.

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     The figures show the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s effort to meet rising obligations to retired public servants and address long-standing arrears across civil, military and paramilitary institutions.

     The proposal shows that N94.54 billion has been set aside under the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for civilian pensions. This includes N60.34 billion for the payment of pensions, N109.77 million for gratuities and N1.02 billion for pension running costs.

    The government also earmarked N2.5 billion to address unfunded pension liabilities and  N30.58 billion for the settlement of pension increment arrears relating to 2024.

    Military pensions and gratuities account for a significant portion of the allocation, with the Defence Military Pensions office expected to receive N486.04 billion.

    Within this amount, N237.25 billion is provided for pensions and gratuities, while N130.38 billion is allocated for expected retirees. Death benefits are projected at N98.53 billion, alongside N3.09 billion for administrative charges.

     Additional provisions include N7.57 billion for medical retirees, N3.96 billion for arrears of gratuities between January 2019 and December 2021;  N2.27 billion for pension arrears within the same period and N2.98 billion for outstanding death benefits.

    The bill also proposes N3.57 billion for National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) contributions for military retirees, including arrears.

    For the civilian staff of the Defence Intelligence Agency, N6.61 billion is proposed for pensions and gratuities, comprising N824.53 million for pensions and N4.28 billion for gratuities. Administrative charges, including verification, training and skill acquisition programmes, are estimated at N1.50 billion.

    The DSS is allocated N28.61 billion, largely driven by N27.63 billion for pensions, including N763.88 million as pension running costs. The sum of  N221.71 million is provided for verification exercises.

    The NIA is to receive N23.54 billion, covering N15.45 billion for pensions and dependants’ benefits; N1 billion for pension running costs and N7.09 billion for gratuity and long service severance packages.

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate is allocated N285.59 billion, reflecting the continuing financial burden associated with legacy pension schemes. Of this amount, N23.29 billion is proposed for the implementation of newly approved pension rates.

    Police pensions and gratuities are estimated at N18.53 billion, with N18.32 billion earmarked for pensions and N213.56 million for pension running costs. The Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office is allocated N18.41 billion, including N15.56 billion for pensions, N222.29 million for running costs, N80.13 million for gratuities and death benefits as well as  N2.55 billion for pensions of retired Comptrollers-General and Deputy Comptrollers-General.

     Under universities’ pensions, including arrears, the government proposed N13.12 billion, all of which is dedicated to pension payments.

    Parastatals and railway pensions together account for N194.69 billion, comprising N105.66 billion for pensions, N1.73 billion for running costs and N87.29 billion to address unfunded liabilities.

    The Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company is allocated N17.55 billion for pensions and arrears.

    The National Pension Commission-related provisions total N427.04 billion. This includes N32.9 billion for the payment of gratuities to civil servants, N62.25 billion for payments into the Redemption Fund and N233.71 billion for the Pension Protection Fund.

    A further N67.72 billion is proposed to cover pension increases arising from the 2024 consequential adjustment. The bill also provides N16.17 billion to address the 2.5 per cent shortfall in employer pension contributions for omitted tertiary institutions between April 2017 and December 2021. It also has a provision of    N14.28 billion for the payment of benefits of retired professors and outstanding shortfalls between 2012 and 2016.

    Other pension-related provisions amount to N20.96 billion. This includes N10.51 billion for the benefits of retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries, N1 billion for severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals, and N2.3 billion for the entitlements of former Presidents, Heads of State, Vice Presidents and former Chiefs of General Staff.

    In addition, N7.16 billion is proposed for outstanding retirement benefits and length of service allowances for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) covering 2023, 2024 and 2025.

    The scale of the pension allocation in the 2026 budget proposal reflects the Federal Government’s effort to meet statutory obligations to retirees while gradually clearing accumulated arrears across multiple sectors, even as fiscal pressures continue to shape spending priorities.

  • 2026: Rethinking pensions, credit, and housing for citizens

    2026: Rethinking pensions, credit, and housing for citizens

    • By Chibundum Chioma Udeh

    As Nigeria enters a new year, fixing the housing crisis requires unblocking long-term savings, rethinking credit, and aligning monetary policy with how ordinary citizens live, work, and build.

    Nigeria’s housing crisis sits at the intersection of rising construction costs, inaccessible pension savings, and prohibitively expensive credit. For millions of working Nigerians, this combination has quietly turned the dream of home-ownership into a distant and often unattainable goal.

    Across the country, many citizens are formally employed and consistently contribute to pension accounts. Their aspirations are modest: to build or buy a small home before retirement. Yet these long-term savings remain locked away throughout their working lives. When contributors turn to credit as an alternative, they encounter interest rates so high that borrowing becomes financially destructive rather than empowering.

    This contradiction lies at the heart of Nigeria’s housing failure. People hold long-term savings but cannot deploy them for long-term needs such as housing, while the credit available to them is short-term, expensive, and poorly suited for incremental home construction or small business growth.

    Microfinance banks illustrate this challenge clearly. Loans are often advertised at rates of about 3.87 percent per month, a figure that may appear manageable at first glance. In reality, such a rate compounds to roughly 46 percent annually and close to 93 percent over two years, excluding administrative fees and other charges. A borrower who takes N10 million could repay nearly N20 million within 24 months.

    For small businesses, these terms are equally crippling. Many rely on loans for working capital, yet interest obligations consume profits before sales even stabilise. As a result, businesses shrink instead of grow, employment opportunities decline, and local production remains weak. The effects ripple through the economy, reduced productivity, rising unemployment, and increased social pressure.

    Read Also: FG did not give Makinde N50bn, only N30bn was released – Aide

    Housing finance faces similar structural barriers. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) often encourages prospective homeowners to purchase completed properties before accessing mortgage financing. This model excludes most Nigerians, who typically build gradually as income allows. Completed homes are expensive, and mortgage availability remains constrained by the limited long-term funding available to banks. Without patient capital, affordable mortgages remain scarce.

    The pension system, which should ideally help bridge this gap, offers little relief. Although Nigeria’s contributory pension scheme permits contributors to use part of their pension as equity for mortgages, the process is bureaucratic, opaque, and difficult to access. Multiple layers of gatekeeping discourage participation, leaving pension savings effectively untouchable until retirement even though securing housing is one of the primary reasons people save.

    The consequences are far-reaching. First, current financial and housing policies push home-ownership beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians. Most people build slowly, stage by stage. Short-term loans with monthly compounding interest are fundamentally incompatible with this reality. Unsurprisingly, buildings remain unfinished for years or are abandoned entirely.

    Second, high-cost credit discourages investment and job creation. Small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to survive under such conditions. Rather than expanding and hiring, businesses cut costs or close altogether, worsening unemployment and social instability.

    Third, families become trapped in a cycle of vulnerability. They cannot access affordable loans, cannot use their pension savings productively, cannot purchase completed homes, and cannot wait until retirement to secure shelter. Housing insecurity thus reinforces long-term poverty.

    Nigeria’s monetary framework compounds these challenges. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) currently around 27 percent sets a benchmark that commercial and microfinance banks must exceed. While intended to manage inflation and exchange-rate pressures, this approach has the unintended effect of pricing long-term credit far beyond the reach of households and productive enterprises. In an economy where inflation is largely driven by structural and cost factors, such as insecurity, import dependence, and weak local production, high interest rates alone cannot resolve the problem.

    Importantly, expanding long-term credit does not require abandoning monetary discipline. The Central Bank of Nigeria can expand long-term credit without undermining its core mandate by using the MPR more flexibly and deploying targeted instruments alongside it. While the MPR can remain the anchor for short-term liquidity and inflation control, the CBN can introduce differentiated long-term refinancing windows for housing, MSMEs, and other productive sectors, priced below the headline rate and supported by strict eligibility and monitoring. Channelled through mortgage banks, development finance institutions, and the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, such facilities would allow long-tenor lending to coexist with a tight monetary stance, ensuring that inflation control does not come at the expense of housing supply, enterprise growth, and financial inclusion.

    Other countries demonstrate that better systems are possible. In the United States, long-term mortgage markets allow households to borrow for 15 to 30 years at relatively stable rates, supported by deep capital markets. Workers may also access regulated loans from retirement accounts for housing, under safeguards that protect future income. South Africa uses pension-backed housing guarantees, where pension assets serve as security rather than direct withdrawals, reducing lender risk and lowering interest rates. The United Kingdom combines fixed-rate mortgages with targeted savings schemes to support first-time buyers.

    These models share a common principle: citizens are not left stranded between locked-up savings and punitive credit. Instead, systems are designed to connect long-term savings with long-term housing needs.

    As a way forward, Nigeria must simplify and expand the pension-to-mortgage framework (with clear timelines for application handling, openness, transparency and equity) so workers saving over decades can use a regulated portion of their pension to secure housing earlier in life with more ease. This is not about draining retirement accounts, but about designing transparent, ease and safe mechanisms that lower borrowing costs.

    The country also needs deeper pools of long-term mortgage finance. Institutions such as the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company and the Federal Mortgage Bank must be strengthened to provide stable capital that allows primary mortgage banks to offer longer tenors at affordable rates, and a more simplified and verifiable process. This must come with strict accountability and open reporting systems and requirements.

    Finally, greater transparency is needed in lending. Borrowers deserve clear disclosure of the real annual cost of loans. Housing policy must also reflect lived realities through incremental housing schemes, serviced plots, and well-structured public-private partnerships.

    As Nigeria steps into a new year, the housing crisis should no longer be treated as an inevitable burden or a distant policy concern. It is a daily reality visible in half-completed buildings, in families struggling to balance rent with school fees, and in workers who save faithfully yet cannot translate those savings into security and dignity.

    A system that locks away people’s long-term savings while pushing them toward crippling short-term loans and unregulated increase in rent is not sustainable especially if the government is not doing much to open and expand the building construction market to allow more supply and lower cost of materials. But it is also not irreversible. With deliberate reforms linking pensions to housing more effectively, expanding long-term credit through targeted monetary instruments, and aligning housing policy with how Nigerians actually live and build the country can begin to turn aspiration into access.

    The new year offers Nigeria a choice: to maintain a system that quietly excludes the majority, or to build one that allows ordinary citizens to save, borrow, and build with confidence. Housing should not be a privilege reserved for the few; it should be part of the promise of work, contribution, and citizenship.

    If Nigeria is serious about shared prosperity, stability, and hope, then unblocking the path between the savings Nigerians already have and the homes they are trying to build would be a fitting place to begin.

    •Chibundum Chioma Udeh is a Project Officer at Saabi Findings Impact Consulting.

  • End the theft of workers’ pensions

    End the theft of workers’ pensions

    SIR: There is a robbery going on in broad daylight but no one hears the alarm. Every month, millions of workers in the private sector see pension deductions reflected on their pay slips. Yet, for many, those deductions never make it to their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs). It is a theft so silent that it often goes unnoticed until it is too late.

    This is not just an Human Resources (HR) glitch. It is organized financial malpractice, a betrayal of trust that undermines the very purpose of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) introduced under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014. That law was meant to protect workers from the uncertainties of retirement by mandating that both employers and employees contribute a percentage of monthly salary to a pension fund. Employers have seven working days after salaries are paid to remit both portions to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

    But some companies deliberately flout this law. They deduct their workers’ contributions, hold on to the money, and use it as cheap capital for their businesses. Others simply fail to remit for months, sometimes years, gambling with employees’ future security.

    The result is that workers who have laboured for years suddenly find out that they have little or nothing saved for retirement. They are robbed not only of their money but also of the peace of mind that comes from knowing their old age will be cushioned.

    This problem is not just financial; it is deeply moral. When a company takes what belongs to workers and refuses to remit it, it is not just breaking the law; it is eroding trust, sapping morale, and staining its reputation. And make no mistake: the damage goes beyond the office walls. Pension theft increases the risk of elderly poverty, pushing more retired workers into dependency on family and meagre public welfare, thereby creating an additional social and economic burden.

    So why does this continue? Weak enforcement is a major culprit. The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has the mandate to enforce compliance, but it cannot be everywhere at once. Defaulting employers often get away with their actions for years before they are caught, if at all. Employees, too, play a part in their silence. Many never check their RSA statements, and even when they discover irregularities, fear of losing their jobs keeps them from reporting to PenCom.

    Read Also: Military pensions board to retirees: your entitlement guaranteed

    Enough is enough. This quiet heist must end.

    Regulators must step up and treat pension theft for what it is, financial crime. Companies that fail to remit deductions should face heavy penalties, including public naming and shaming. Their directors should be held personally liable, and where necessary, prosecuted. Only then will employers think twice before tampering with workers’ pensions.

    But workers also have a role to play. Every employee should make it a habit to check their RSA statement monthly or quarterly. If your contributions are missing, speak up, first to your HR department, and if nothing changes, report directly to PenCom. Silence is not just costly; it is dangerous.

    Trade unions and professional associations must also get involved. Protecting workers’ pensions is as important as fighting for fair wages. Sensitization campaigns, workplace seminars, and legal support can empower workers to demand compliance without fear of retaliation.

    Technology can help too. PFAs should deploy automated systems that notify employees by SMS or email whenever contributions are credited to their accounts or missed. This real-time transparency will make it harder for employers to default without being caught immediately.

    Corporate Nigeria must also wake up to the reality that good governance is good business. You cannot claim to care about employee welfare while withholding their future. The cost of non-compliance — legal, reputational, and moral — will eventually outweigh the temporary financial relief employers get from holding back remittances.

    This is a call to action to regulators, employers, workers, and unions. We cannot continue to look away while the pensions of hardworking Nigerians are siphoned off under our noses. A dignified retirement is not a privilege; it is a right earned through years of labour.

    Pension theft is not just a private matter between employee and employer, it is a national concern. If we want to build a fairer, more productive economy, we must ensure that the promises made to workers about their future are kept. Anything less is daylight robbery and we must all refuse to be complicit.

    • Samuel Jekeli, Abuja.
  • NOA cartoons; ‘Pensions before palliatives’, Pls

    NOA cartoons; ‘Pensions before palliatives’, Pls

    Nigeria needs Argentinian style cuts in its political posts.

    At least 27/200 Nigerians dead in Kogi boat accident. Can Nigerian garment factories not make 10,000 life jackets? Even discarded empty water bottles can be made into rafts and life jackets. Should adults kill their children through such neglect? WEAR A LIFE JACKET TODAY! 

    There was a wonderfully cartoon super boy in a motivational skit where one person ruined the work of many, on TV – commendable. The end credit read ‘Powered by National Orientation Agency’. Hurray, NOA, congratulations for championing the ‘morally clean’ Nigeria First cartoon drive. However blanket banning foreign cartoons, unless morally illegal, is overkill, draconian. Talking of film credits, other governments, even Ghana, Senegal and South Africa, are frequently credited for grants supporting their home film industries. Nigerian governments must include film making in their budgets and give similar film grants at LGAs, state and federal government level.

    Nigerian writers, designers and film location experts need to consciously create Nairaphilic costumes, emblazoned with Nigerian fashion brands and places, ‘I Love Lagos’ or ‘…Bodija’ or ‘…Barkin Ladi’ with African/Nigeria pictures and symbols and Nigerian colours on their walls, bags, hats, T shirts and clothing.   

    There are a growing number of great Nigerian cartoons around. Cartoons are costly to make and then, purchase expensive airtime, expected to compete with commercial product advertising. Moral cartoon and social messaging space should be better negotiated, helped by NOA, to reduce access cost to give adequate space and time to ‘Youth Motivational and Empowerment Messaging’.

    Moral decay is all around. Moral enlightenment should be in ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Time and Space’ of the electronic and print media which is uncriticised when it comes to assessment for CSR commitment.  For 30 years we at Educare Trust have fought for and got 1% OF PRETAX PROFIT IDENTIFIED AS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Ask MTN. Few corporate bodies live up to 1% CSR. Educare Trust also recommends that every large or small company CSR TRACK RECORD SHOULD BE A SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT submitted for evaluation and grading along with the professional competence grading as qualifying criteria for private and public sector contractors and partners. We also fought during the same 30 years for 10% OF DAILY ADVERT TIME IN RADIO, TV, AND 10% ADVERTISING SPACE OF EVERY ADVERT IN PRINT AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO BE ALLOCATED TO SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MESSAGING. These steps are urgent countermeasures to the moral and social decay today! NOA can help with laws and honours to achieve these.

    Read Also: 15 major takeaways from Tinubu’s speech in South Africa

    Government asks itself: ‘Pay Pensions or Palliatives?’ Citizens demand ‘Pay Arrears of Pensions before Palliatives’. 

    The federal government just announced that pension arrears for 2023 to date will be paid ‘subject to the availability of funds’. In contrast, government distributed billions as palliatives to people they do not know or owe and who have never worked for government. Government ‘which cannot eliminate pension arrears accumulated through systemic failure of its own party from nine years in office’ offers to pay ‘palliatives/incentives for out-of-school children’ to go to and stay in school. Free education for the few by the back door?

    JUST MAKE EDUCATION TO SS3 FREE-FOR-ALL! Remember Awolowo?  A wise man pays his debts to his former staff before asking their successor staff to ignore those same hungry predecessors and give their money to passers-by.  A recipe for disillusionment and further moral decay. This is another needless discussion which needs urgent reversal, like the despicable 18year minimum age to enter university, thankfully reversed with sack of the offending minister.

    Has government thought through this ‘pension payment subject to availability of funds’? It is outright ‘Breach of International Human Rights Law and Contract’, an insult to our heroic retired workers, especially the majority who refused to self-enrich-in-office. Millions of koboless, penniless parents or grandparents have been turned from provider to a pariah, dependent on handouts. Remember their pension funds have been looted repeatedly by unsupervised government officials and appointees during this and past governments which also failed to pay all employer contributions pension funds. Governments should accept responsibility to replace stolen and shortfall employer contribution funds in the pension funds.  

    Nigerian governments, federal, state and LGA, have turned an International Standard Retirement Scheme into a Nigerian financial nightmare with citizens unable to access rightful returns after 10-35 years of work – an arrogant political crime, breach of legal and morally obligatory economically indexed monthly pension. The emotional trauma to adult citizens, falling from breadwinner to beggar, destroys the economic bedrock steady historically oldest bank in Nigeria, ‘The Extended Family Bank’, the first social security safety net in Nigeria, but it depended on regular salaries and pensions, which enabled the elderly to always fulfil their leadership role and financial obligations. Grandparents no longer have coins or sweets of biscuits for the grandchildren. Now, broke grandparents, but pension-owed, rely on their children for survive. The nature of our greedy political class has brazenly denied millions of their legal pensions. But even worse, is the fact that our ‘survival only’ minimum wage structure has guaranteed that our elderly have never earned enough to save or set up any income after retirement.

    Let us not forget lost pensions for the millions displaced from their ancestral homes by war, terrorism, banditry and environmental hazards. Do we give the IDPs the dignity to be paid to work and use their skills within the IDP camps?    

  • CPS: A path to higher retirement pensions

    CPS: A path to higher retirement pensions

    The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), introduced in 2004, was a response to the failures and unsustainability of the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), the Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has said. 

    The DG, in a statement, said under the DBS, retirees often faced severe delays in receiving their pensions due to a plethora of inefficiencies, even as the system was plagued by corruption, and other challenges, leaving many retirees destitute and dependent on family members for survival.

    In contrast, she said, the CPS offers a more transparent and predictable system, where workers’ contributions are managed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) under the regulation and supervision of PenCom.

    She emphasided that the CPS ensures each worker’s pension is funded by  the employee and employer, creating a pool of funds that is invested to generate returns.

    These return, according to her, help secure the future of retirees, ensuring a stable income after retirement.

    She stressed that unlike the DBS, where pension payments were subject to government’s budgetary allocations and uncertainties, the CPS guarantees that workers’ pension savings are readily available for payment of retirement and terminal benefits.

    She further stated that despite the significant successes recorded in the implementation of the CPS in Nigeria, there are concerns about low pensions, particularly among public sector retirees, who often have lower pay compared to those in the private sector.

    She explained that the issue of low pensions under the CPS could be attributed to several factors that include low contribution rates, short contribution period, among others.

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    Low Contribution Rates

    “The amount of pension paid to a retiree is related to the contributions made during the retiree’s working years. The Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014) mandates a minimum of 18 per cent of the employee’s monthly emolument to be contributed to the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) by the employer, an amount to be contributed as 10 per cent from employer and 8 per cent employee.

    “However, this is only a minimum. The contribution rates can be increased by both parties, or the employer may elect to bear the full responsibility of the prescribed or higher contribution rate, which would result in higher pensions for employees upon retirement.”

    Short Contribution Period

    Oloworaran also explained that a shorter period of participation in the CPS leads to limited accumulated pension savings.

    “This affected early retirees under the CPS, especially employees who retired few years after the commencement of the exit from July 1, 2007. As the CPS gathers more momentum having been in existence for 20 years, this issue will abate. However, some retirees have had a short contribution period before leaving active service, resulting in insufficient accumulation for higher pensions.

    “This was a transitional challenge, which would no longer be a significant issue as the scheme matures.”

    Impact of Lump Sum Withdrawals

    “Retirees are allowed to withdraw a portion of their pension savings as a lump sum upon retirement. However, pension and lump sum withdrawals have an inverse relationship: the higher the lump sum, the lower the pension, and vice versa. The key principle of pension management is balancing immediate lump sums with the long-term sustainability of monthly payments. It should be understood that the primary objective of the pension reform in Nigeria is to ensure timely payment of pensions to protect retires from destitution in their golden years.”

    RSA Holder’s Decisions

    “The CPS offers flexibility, allowing RSA holders to make decisions that directly influence their pension savings. For instance, younger RSA holders with many years ahead in their careers may benefit from choosing an aggressive investment fund within the Multi-Fund Structure, potentially leading to higher pension outcomes.

    “Another crucial decision is the selection of a PFA. RSA holders can also switch PFAs for better service quality and improved returns. However, it is important to note that withdrawals from the RSA before retirement, such as in cases of temporary job loss or as equity contributions for residential mortgages, can reduce the size of the monthly pension at retirement. An RSA holder that does not make early withdrawal is on a more prudent strategy to ensuring higher pensions in the future.”

    Speaking on path to increased pensions, while addressing factors contributing to low pensions, the DG said the PRA 2014 allows employers to establish Additional Benefits Schemes (ABS), providing enhanced retirement benefits, including gratuity payments, to their employees.

    She noted that contrary to misconceptions, the CPS has not abolished the payment of gratuity to employees. Indeed, many organisations have instituted ABS from which gratuities and other retirement benefits are paid to retirees in addition to the RSA balances.

    “This flexibility enables employers to offer more benefits beyond the mandatory provisions, depending on employment terms, affordability, and collective bargaining.

    “It is crucial to understand that profits generated from pension fund investments continue to seamlessly reflect in retirees’ RSA balances, further boosting their pensions. Consequently, in 2017, PenCom introduced the periodic enhancement of pensions for CPS retirees because the returns generated by the PFAs on the RSAs of most retirees were sufficient to enhance their monthly pensions. Over the years, many RSAs have seen significant growth due to high returns from PFAs, despite ongoing monthly pension payouts.

    “As explained, various options are available to employers and employees to improve pension adequacy, particularly for public service retirees who are disproportionately affected by lower pay. Offering additional retirement benefits can attract and retain talent, boost employee morale and loyalty, and enhance an organisation’s reputation,” she added.

  • Retired police officers protest over unpaid pensions

    Retired police officers protest over unpaid pensions

    Some retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) yesterday protested at the National Assembly over alleged several months of unpaid pensions with a call on President Bola Tinubu to remove them from the scheme.

    The protesters decried the extreme challenges they have had to endure, saying that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has failed to pay their entitlements for several months causing them and their families untold hardship.

    The aggrieved retired police officers also wrote a Save Our Soul (SOS) letter to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, calling for an urgent intervention.

    Read Also: Retired police officers protest over unpaid pensions

    Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chairman of the retirees, Christopher Effiong, said many of their members have developed terminal illnesses and heart attacks as a result of the frustration associated with the scheme.

    In a letter dated May 21 and addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the retirees said many of their colleagues have lost their lives due to the prevailing economic hardship.

    The letter reads in part: “For over a decade now, Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), have painstakingly, lawfully and peacefully been agitating to be given the rightful placement in the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), the premises under which most of us enlisted in the NPF which guarantees the of pension and gratuity to an officer upon retirement.

    “We believe that our peaceful and legal approach to this agitation would not be taken for granted by you.’’

  • Reform pensions triple lock by OECD, UK told

    Reform pensions triple lock by OECD, UK told

    A major global economic body has urged the UK government to reform the pensions triple lock to improve the public finances.

    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said a shake-up would help give ministers more “fiscal headroom” – as it warned the country was vulnerable to shocks, including further increases in energy prices amid the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

    The policy was introduced by the coalition government in 2010 and was designed to ensure people’s pensions were not impacted by rises in the cost of living over time.

    Under its terms, the state pension must rise every April by whichever is highest out of average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.

    But critics say the policy has become too expensive for the Treasury and is unfair on people of working age who may also be struggling.

    A recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the triple lock added an extra £11bn a year to public spending.

    Paris-based OECD, a club of 38 rich countries, on Wednesday added its voice to calls for reform in its latest Economic Outlook report.

    It said: “Maintaining and strengthening current fiscal efforts is essential against the challenging backdrop of high borrowing and debt, and as higher debt interest payments have eroded fiscal headroom.

    Read Also: FG tongue lashes PDP Govs, demands impact of increased revenue

    “Reforming the costly triple lock uprating of state pensions would help, by indexing pensions to an average of CPI [consumer price index of inflation] and wage inflation, and by providing direct transfers to poor pensioners to mitigate poverty risks.”

    It said reforms to tackle labour market inactivity and reducing “policy uncertainty for business investment” would also help improve the UK’s finances by encouraging growth.

    Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his recent autumn statement that the state pension will rise by 8.5% in April 2024 as part of the policy.

    It will increase to £221.20 a week, in line with an increase in wages – the highest of the three triple lock measures this time around.

    The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both insisted they are committed to maintaining the lock, although some senior Tories have called for it to be scrapped.

    Culled from Sky news

  • Osun votes N2.9b bonds for pensions, gratuities

    Osun votes N2.9b bonds for pensions, gratuities

    Osun State Government has offered retirees of the state civil service a N2.9 billion pension bond.

    This was made known by the state government’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed.

    According to him, Governor Ademola Adeleke is committed to the bond.

    He stated that this was divided between state retirees, who would receive N1.3 billion, and local government/primary school retirees, who are allocated N1.625 billion.

    He said: “This allocation underscores the governor’s commitment to addressing the welfare of retired state employees.

    “Governor Adeleke also provided a detailed account of the funds the state government has dedicated to pensions and gratuities since the inception of his administration until November 2023. For state-level retirees, including those from civil service, parastatals, tertiary institutions, and UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, the state has expended N7.444 billion on the contributory pension scheme, N1.2 billion on gratuities, and about N6 billion on monthly pensions, totalling  N14.641 billion.

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    “Similarly, for local government and primary school retirees, the state’s expenditure includes N7.384 billion on the contributory pension scheme, N1.95 billion on gratuities, and N4.167 billion on monthly pensions, cumulatively amounting to about N13.501 billion.’’

    Raheed reaffirmed the Adeleke administration’s commitment to balancing the welfare of the people and state employees with the advancement of infrastructure in the state.

  • ‘Stay humble, pensions will never be sexy’

    ‘Stay humble, pensions will never be sexy’

    Getting younger workers to engage In planning for their retirement demands a hook to pique their interest, says Nikki Trip, founder of JIIP, a network for pension professionals under 35 in the Netherlands.

    Stay humble, Trip told attendees at a panel on financial influencers at the P&I WorldPensionSummit.

    “Pensions are not sexy,” she said.  “They will never be sexy.”

    When she talks to peers, she said, she’ll tell them that one day a week, they’re working for their pension. That gets their interest, she notes.

    Read Also: Access Pensions surpasses N1tr AUM milestone

    Another strategy: promoting a meeting on salary matters, but bringing in a pension expert in the last five minutes.

    While a hook is key, Trip said it’s equally important to communicate the value of savings — the value they’re creating now as well as the value they’ll receive many years down the road.

    • Culled from  Pensions&Investments
  • Access Pensions surpasses N1tr AUM milestone

    Access Pensions surpasses N1tr AUM milestone

    Access Pensions Limited, a subsidiary of Access Corporation, has achieved a feat, surpassing the N1 trillion marks in assets under management (AUM), its Managing Director, Dave Uduanu, has said.

      In a statement, Uduanu said the company, which emerged from the business combination of Sigma Pensions and First Guarantee Pension last December has scaled up its assets under management to surpass the N1 trillion thresholds in just six months.

    He stated that the trajectory  establishes Access Pensions position as the fourth largest Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) measured by AUM in Nigeria and the second largest PFA, overseeing a portfolio of over one million Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).

    He said: “Our journey to N1 trillion has been guided by a strong commitment to partnering with clients to shape their future. While technology served as a cornerstone, we attribute our success to a disciplined investment management approach and a resolute client-centric philosophy.

    “Leveraging technology in service delivery to improve user experience, following a disciplined approach to investment management, and being a member of the largest financial ecosystem in Nigeria, we can offer clients a superior retirement planning experience.

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    “Having a client-centric approach has played a significant role as we look to match our client’s needs and aspirations, building trust along the way.’’

    He added that Access Pensions is committed to delivering results, even in challenging times, which has been the cornerstone of its credibility and client promise.

    Uduanu said  Access Pensions has invested heavily in technology to enhance its operations and client experiences and that its digital platforms (USSD, Mobile, WhatsApp chatbot) and Contact Centre provide real-time updates, keeping clients informed about their portfolios and requests.

    “Since its formation in December, Access Pensions has brought forth innovative products that cater to a wide range of risk preferences, effectively staying ahead of changing demands. Our vision is clear and it is to provide our clients with the financial tools needed to shape their retirement future. We are dedicated to raising the bar in service, performance, and client satisfaction. As we expand, responsible and sustainable investing will remain our priority,” Uduanu added.