Kogi, Kwara, Three Other North Central States Not Remitting Pension Contributions–PenCom

With the pressure for remittance from the National Pension Commission, the pension regulatory body, five North Central governments have not commenced remittance of pension contributions for its employees since 2004.

The commission disclosed this in its ‘Status of implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme in the North- Central Zone,’ which was analyzed by THE WHISTLER.

As of the end of June this year, PenCom said out of the six state in the zone, only two states– the Federal Capital Territory and Benue State have commenced remitting pension contributions, with FCT up to date.

Nigeria’s North Central zone is made up of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau States and the FCT.

The Contributory Pensions Scheme was introduced in June 2004 through the Pensions Reform Act, but Kwara and Plateau are yet to enact a legislation to overhaul the process.

In 2014, the Pensions Reform Act 2004 was replaced by a new act PRA 2014 which made it mandatory for state and local governments to implement contributory pension schemes for their employees.

According to the data released by the Commission, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa and Plateau States have neither commenced remittance of their contributions nor register employees with the Pensions Fund Administrators.

The worst two states on the CPS implementation are Kogi and Kwara. Kogi met two criteria out of eight, while Kwara met just one criteria out of nine.

Niger State “Resumed deduction of 10.5 per cent employer and 7.5 per cent employee pension contributions in June 2020. Remitted up to July 2021,” according to PenCom.

According to the regulator, six states are also yet to commence funding of the Accrued Pension Rights and have not instituted a Group Life Insurance Policy up till date.

The Pension Reform Act 2014 makes group life insurance compulsory for all employees covered under the scheme.

Section 4(5) of the PRA 2014, provides that “Every employer shall maintain a Group Life Insurance Policy in favour of each employee for a minimum of three times the annual total emolument of the employee and premium shall be paid not later than the date of commencement of the cover.”

But the States, including Benue have ignored these benefits accrued to their workers at both state and local government levels.