In what appears to be the most remarkable phase in pension administration in decades, the Federal Government recently announced the approval of Seven Hundred and Fifty Eight Billion Naira ,N758bn, to fund pension arrears.
Pension administration before the 2014 Pension Reform Act was chaotic as retirees had to wait endlessly to access their benefits. This was largely due to loopholes explored by the employers and inherent corruption within the system.
Many retirees died while waiting to have access to their benefits even as others were short-changed in the process of computing their dues. The challenges were innumerable.
The emergence of Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, was expected to plug the loopholes and ensure seamless access to by retirees to their benefits.
Unfortunately, inconsistency in policies and related factors have bedeviled the new regime which naturally was intended to provide a fresh lease for retirees in both the private and public sectors.
Pensions are means by which individuals accumulate savings over their working life in order to finance their consumption needs in retirement, either by means of a lump sum or by provision of annuity, while also supplying funds to end users such as corporations or governments for investment purpose. The Administration of Pension in Nigeria have experienced inconsistency in policies due to its many challenges since inception- delay in payment of pensions and gratuities to deserving retirees in Nigeria fueled by lack of accountability, poor leadership, embezzlement of pension fund, inaccurate pensioners records and gross incompetence on the path of Pension Administrators.
In the civil service many pensioners confronted untold hardship, abject poverty and squalor. The forgoing led to the enactment of the Pensions Reforms Act 2014 to repeal the 2004 Act.
The 2014 Act makes provisions targeted that promotion of welfare of workers after retirement from active service either at the public or the private sector of the economy by introducing new features to ensure the attainment of the set goals and objectives.
The Act provides for heavier punishments for pension related offences. There are though instances where the grievousness of pension related offences are yet to be established.
Ensuring income security for people during their old age is a crucial objective among the welfare goals of modern societies and public pension systems have become a foundation on which income security for older persons rests. The social security for the working class and older people is a huge responsibility that must be safeguarded like every fundamental human right.
The Pension Reforms Act, Regulations and Guidelines can only set the standards. Our commitment to social security for the working class and retirees is a collective responsibility of the partners by ensuring the beneficiaries of contributory pension enjoy the fruit of their labour.
The administrative challenges identified by pension managers were; lack of adequate staff ,51.8%, lack of biometric data capturing machine ,81.2%, too many pensioners on the payroll ,57.7%, ghost pensioners ,55.3%, and embezzlement of pension funds ,54.2%.
However due to inherent limitations and poor administration of pensions resulting to avoidable delays and to a reasonable extent; none payments, accumulated backlog, frustrations and associated pains on the pensioners ,beneficiaries, there was need for a review. This resulted to the current pensions act which gave rise to the emergence of current Pension Fund Administrators ,PFAs. PFAs are government appointed/ approved companies engaged in pensions fund administration.
For old pensioners before the reforms, they were birthed into the Pension Transition Administration, PTAD, which managed their monthly stipends. However, the challenges that dogged the previous system have continued, leading a backlog of unpaid entitlements.
It is disheartening that workers under the old and new schemes are still being plagued with the pains of the past.
However, it is heartwarming that the Federal Government has taken a bold step by approving that colossal sum to settle pension arrears as pensioners would smile soon if it makes good that move.
There is every reason for the administrators to be transparent in dealing with the pensioners. Most pensioners have served their nation meritoriously and deserve their dues unimpeded.
The crop of current administrators should be wary that one day, they would also fall in line as retirees. It is therefore incumbent on them to be circumspect in dealing with their older colleagues.
It is important that the government ensures that it superintends effectively the disbursement of the funds to avoid the itchy fingers of some unscrupulous administrators.
