The Contributory Pensioners Union of Nigeria (CPUN) has urged the Federal Government to execute and disburse pension increments based on the percentages of 15% and 33% from the years 2007 and 2010, respectively.
While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu’s prompt allocation of funds and directive to the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for timely payouts to pensioners within the Contributory Pensions Scheme (CPS), CPUN stressed the necessity of complete implementation of the CPS.
In an official statement, CPUN Chairman Comrade Mathew Shittu emphasized the need for a raise in the minimum wage to N30,000 for Federal civil servants and retirees, highlighting the absence of provisions specifically addressing pensioners enrolled in the CPS.
Shittu also expressed concerns over the lack of transparency regarding the methodology used to calculate retirement benefits, noting a lack of disclosure regarding this calculation template.
He said: “There is non-disclosure of template for calculating retirees’ benefits. For example, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and PenCom, still owe all categories of contributory pensioners from inception of 2004, accrued interests on their initial entitlements as at July 2004, which was deposited with the CBN as bonds.
“Therefore, we are demanding the calculation of accrued interests (on monetised amounts) as at July 2004 at the government’s official interest rate as at that time to be paid to our members.
“We demand our union representation in the forthcoming Pension Act Review Committee coming up in 2024.
“The Union does not want people who are not stakeholders to represent us anymore.
“The Union also demands that, henceforth, any entitlement due to retirees under contributory pension should not be paid like 2.5 per cent, which was pro-rated into 10 years. Every delayed entitlement should be paid directly to the beneficiaries.’’
