Senior Citizens: PENCOM assures pensioners of payment shortly after retirement

*Aisha Dahiru Umar, Executive Chairman of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria, says the backlog of accrued rights component of pension payments to Pensioners, causing delay in payment over the years, is almost cleared by the Federal Government

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Fresh hope rises for pensioners as the National Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) has  declared that the Federal retired citizens will no longer face problem of delayed pension payment after retirement.

ConsumerConnect learnt Aisha Dahiru Umar, Executive Chairman of PENCOM, disclosed this development in her submission to the Senate Committee on Finance, in the National Assembly (NASS), in Abuja, FCT.

Cross-Sections of Nigerian Retirees at a Forum

The Committee is currently interfacing with relevant government agencies on proposals for the 2023–2025 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) .

The pension regulatory Commission declared that the N14.5trillion pension fund is not idle as it has deployed it to make right investments for the retirees.

Umar also said the backlog of accrued rights component of pension payments to Pensioners causing delay in payment over the years, is almost cleared by the Federal Government.

Within the last 17 years, the Executive Chairman of PENCOM noted the Federal Government has been paying N49billion per month to offset the accrued rights backlog of pensioners.

“Late payment of pension to pensioners will be a thing of the past very soon as required steps in that direction, have been taken by the federal government whose retirees are affected,” stated Umar.

The Executive Chairman, however, urged pensioners to carry out required documentation “a year to their retirement in fast-tracking the whole process” in pension administration in Nigeria.

She equally informed the Senate Committee on Finance that the N14.5trillion available pension fund is not idle as N9.5trillion out of it , is invested in Federal government securities, N1.23trillion in equity shares, while 35% of the fund is invested in the money market.

The Committee, also said that the yearly repeated N102million overhead subvention given the regulatory agency by the Federal Government will be removed aside the N26billion yearly inserted into the Commission budget without cash backing, report said.