The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has provisions that can address the challenges being faced by personnel of the Nigeria Police and other Federal Government Agencies on the administration of their retirement benefits.
The Director General of PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar, said this on Tuesday in Abuja during a public hearing on two pension-related Bills by the House Committee on Pension.
They are a Bill for an Act to exempt the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS and a Bill for an Act to further Amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 to, among other things, provide for a retiree to withdraw a lump sum of at least 75 per cent from the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) and to criminalize undue delay in the payment of pension and for related matters.
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“The solution to the pension challenges of the personnel of the Nigeria Police does not reside in their exemption from Contributory Pension Scheme and reversion to the Defined Benefits Scheme, which is clearly unsustainable,” Dahir-Umar told the Committee.
She said the absence of other social security benefits in Nigeria is partly responsible for the clamour by the retirees for exemption or to access substantial amounts as lump sum from their RSA balance.
The Director-General, according to a statement said the exemption of the NPF from the CPS would result in the dismantling of the institutions, systems and processes that government had put in place in the last few years towards the implementation of the pension reform programme.
“Exemption of the personnel of the NPF would imply additional financial burden on the Federal Government by way of unsustainable pension obligations.
“For instance, as at September 2021, there were 304,963 Police personnel based on IPPIS data. An actuarial valuation revealed that the retirement benefits (pension and gratuity) liability of these personnel under the defunct Defined Benefits Scheme would amount to about N1.84trn,” she said.
On the other hand, the PenCom DG said that the liability under the CPS for the same NPF personnel is made up of N213.4bn as accrued pension rights and monthly employer pension contributions of about N2.2bn.
The DG said to address the concerns of police personnel on pension, the employer can review upwards its current contribution rate of ten per cent.
In addition, she said the PRA 2014 further provides that notwithstanding the pension contributions made by employer and employee into the employee’s RSA, the employer may agree on the payment of additional benefits to the employee upon retirement.
“Accordingly, the Federal Government may wish to provide additional benefits in the form of gratuity to personnel of the NPF upon their retirement,” she said.
Meanwhile, regarding the 75 per cent lumpsum payment, she said the amendment, if approved, would be contrary to the provision of Section 173 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The provision guarantees the right to pensions for all public officers as the payment of “at least 75 per cent of the balance of the RSA” as lumpsum at retirement.
She added that this will significantly deplete the pension savings such that the contributions will not be sufficient to provide meaningful pensions during retirement.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PENOP), Oguche Agudah, said the exemption of the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS would take Nigeria back to the dark ages before the pension reforms.
“This was a time when retirees had to depend on a defined benefit system; where the federal government paid monthly pensions to retirees directly from its coffers,” he said.
Agudah said at the time of the reform, it was estimated that the Federal Government had a pension liability of over N2trn.
“Past experiences have proven that this system puts a lot of burden on the federal government, making it unsustainable.
“The sustainability of moving the police back to the pay – as – you – go Defined benefit scheme under their proposal is near impossible, given the Federal government’s struggling finances at the moment,” he said.
He recommended that from the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) upwards, their pensions should be treated under the category of political appointees who retire with full benefits as stated in the PRA 2014 as their appointments are political in nature.
It is unfortunate that the police force have been sold out for Avery long time.Infact since 1983 when Buhari took over government from Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the police literally died till today. The first inspectors general of police, Mr Etim Inyang was commanded by the military to obey them, till he left the force, the other inspector generals were under the military till date.The police force could not boast of any infrastructure without beggining the military. The issue of police being under pencom is as a result of the dirty of the force since 1983.L’s the military not Nigeria armed forces, what of the DSS, and Nia? The fact is that the military felt that they cannot be two forces in the country, and that military superiority make police force a toothless bull dog till date.A nation who has no regards for his senior citizens is no Nation. Nevertheless no body lives for ever . There is no reason why the police force should be treated that way.After all we know that some people are benefiting from the suffering and death of their fellow human beings. Democracy without equality m, is no Democracy, but oppression.”