The National Pension Commission has revealed that the Federal Government has released an additional N22bn through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for accrued pension rights of retirees in MDAs under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
In a statement released on its Instagram page on Tuesday night, PenCom said it was for those who retired between October 2023 and January 2024.
“These funds were disbursed into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account (domiciled) at the Central Bank of Nigeria. They are meant to settle accrued pension rights for verified retirees of Treasury-funded MDAs,” the pension regulator said.
To benefit from this disbursement are retirees covering the period October 2023 to January 2024, who were duly verified and enrolled. “Some deceased employees’ accrued rights are also covered. Funds have already been credited to their retirement savings accounts via pension fund administrators.”
With this release, the total amount disbursed from the 2024 appropriation for accrued pension rights now stands at N66bn.
Retirees are required to contact their PFAs to complete the necessary documentation to access their retirement benefits.
Also, PenCom said it has directed PFAs to fast-track the payment process for all verified retirees.
In December, the FG released N44bn for the payment of accrued rights for retirees between March and September 2023 and some deceased retirees.
The Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy decried the selective accrued rights payment at the time, slamming the government for adopting a benevolent employer stance towards the payment of accrued rights instead of meeting its legal obligations.
By Oluwakemi Abimbola @ThePUNCH
