In a bid to address the delay in pension payments to retirees, the Federal Government has initiated the computation of accrued pensions for serving federal civil servants.
According to a memo from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the exercise is being carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and targets employees employed on or before June 30, 2004.
The move aims to enable the government to plan ahead for the early release of retirees’ entitlements, avoiding delays caused by the late release of accrued rights under the old Defined Benefit Scheme.
All affected officers are required to fill out a mandatory form to facilitate the payment of their accrued pension rights upon retirement.
This development comes as the Federal Government faces criticism for failing to release funds for accrued pension rights in 2023 and the first half of 2024, despite budgetary provisions.
The government’s indebtedness to retirees on accrued pension rights is estimated at N230 billion, prompting calls from pensioner groups to boycott investing pension assets in government securities.
The National Pension Commission reported that the FG released N100.2 billion for accrued rights in 2021, with an additional N14.92 billion in March 2022. However, no payments have been made since February 2023.
This initiative aims to address the long-standing issue of delayed pension payments and ensure a smoother transition for retirees.
