The House of Assembly of Katsina State has enacted an executive bill to establish a contributory pension program in the state.
Governor Aminu Masari submitted the bill, which was passed by the assembly during its plenary session, which was presided over by Speaker Alhaji Tasi’u Maigari.
Following the presentation of the report of an ad-hoc committee chaired by Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Shehu Dalhatu-Tafoki, the bill was passed.
He explained that the law was an expression of the executive’s plan to implement a new pension policy for the state.
“The bill’s presentation was in keeping with the Federal Government’s overhaul of the pension system, which began in 2004,” he said. The Pension Reform Act of 2014 was the culmination of the reform (as amended). States, local governments, and the commercial sector are now required by law to create and operate a contributing program for their employees.”
The only notable difference between the new pension scheme and the current one, according to the legislator, was the magnitude of the contribution that an employee was expected to make under the new scheme.
“The Katsina State government wishes to model itself after the Jigawa State government’s defined benefit model. As a result, the model is an exact reproduction of Jigawa’s. “The bill contains enough transitional provisions to ensure that benefits are paid to civil personnel who are not covered by the new scheme,” he said.
According to him, based on their findings, the committee found that the present pay-as-you-go system has multiple flaws that indicate its unsustainable nature.
“Given the country’s economic downturn, it appears that the old system can no longer be implemented smoothly. “The ultimate solution to the sector’s ongoing difficulties is a paradigm overhaul in the policies that control the pension landscape,” he said.
The implementation of the Jigawa model, according to the committee, will advance the law’s goals.
After a lengthy discussion, the parliamentarians unanimously endorsed the report and passed the measure to implement the new pension scheme in the state.
Source: Vanguard
