PenCom begins payment of 2.5% pension differentials to retirees

The National Pension Commision (PenCom) on Monday said it had commenced payment of the 2.5 per cent differentials of 2004 and 2014 specified by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) to retirees.

Mr Saleem Abdulrahman, Head, Contribution and Bond Redemption Department, PenCom said the beneficiaries were retirees between 2019 and 2020 of the Federal Government Treasury Funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s).

Abdulrahman stated this at the 2021 Journalist Workshop organised by the Commision in Lagos with the theme: “Positioning the Pension Industry in the Post COVID Era.”

It was reported that 2014 PRA as amended established a Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) whereby the employers were required to contribute 10 per cent of the employees’ salary to the scheme monthly.

The 10 per cent minimum contribution by employers is an increase of 2.5 per cent over the 7.5 per cent contribution stipulated by the repealed 2004 PRA.

The Act also mandated employees to contribute a minimum of 8 per cent to the scheme monthly.

Abdulrahman explained that the commission had also begun computing the details of retirees between July 1, 2014 to Dec. 2018 and would pay them soon.

“Some of the retirees may likely get additional lumpsum or enhanced annuity or programmed withdrawal.

“We have also begun the computation of the active employees to enable payment,” he said.