By Dada Ahmed.
The leadership of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) retirees’ union has appealed for calm among members, adding that he National Pension Commission (PenCom) is working to address complaints arising from the ongoing payment of pension increment arrears.
The National Chairman of the union Comrade Sylva C. Nwaiwu, in a statement said PenCom and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) are already implementing solutions, following a recent meeting involving all stakeholders.
He noted that this is the first time in the history of the CPS that such a large-scale, fully electronic payment,covering more than 200,000 retirees nationwide,is being executed, pointing out that initial challenges should be understood rather than escalated.
The union clarified that PFAs’ branch offices act strictly on head-office instructions and urged members to engage them respectfully.
It explained that the first batch uploaded by PenCom did not include all eligible retirees, adding that Batch 1 payments are expected to be completed by the end of next week, while Batch 2 uploads are ongoing.
Retirees under both Programmed Withdrawal and Life Annuity arrangements were advised to stop rushing to PFA offices, as this slows down processing.
He explained that retirees who served between 5 and 10 years or more under the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) before the 2004 transition receive higher arrears based on their accrued rights,hence the variation in payment amounts.
The national chairman directed members with genuine issues of underpayment to forward their complaints, in writing, to the Director-General of PenCom, not to the PFAs.
He disclosed that PenCom is currently working with relevant government agencies to clarify the salary structures of self-accounting and self-funded organisations, while correcting errors in some classifications.
Comrade Nwaiwu reminded members that temporary waivers granted to PFAs,such as delayed signing of payment agreements or flexibility in data recapturing,are designed only to fast-track payments.
He stressed that compliance with signing agreements, data recapturing and provision of requested documents remains mandatory, warning that defaulters risk being blocked from future payments, including the upcoming ₦32,000 pension award.
