PenCom urges states to implement pension reforms

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, has urged states to fully implement contributory pension reforms to protect retirees and guarantee workers’ retirement benefits nationwide.

Oloworaran said stronger compliance with pension reforms would reduce liabilities, improve accountability, and strengthen sustainable pension administration across the country.

Oloworaran spoke Thursday in Abuja during a consultative meeting with Heads of Service from states yet to implement fully the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and other approved pension reforms across Nigeria effectively.

“The pension reform remains an obligation rooted in Section 210 of the 1999 Constitution, guaranteeing pension rights for all civil servants, including workers at state levels,” Oloworaran told participants..

She said the contributory pension system replaced an older structure associated with uncertainty, delayed payments, weak accountability, and mounting liabilities, while thirty states and the Federal Capital Territory enacted reform laws.

Oloworaran expressed concern that only seven states and the Federal Capital Territory implemented reforms fully, despite existing laws, leaving workers vulnerable through poor remittances, inadequate funding, and weak pension administration frameworks.

“Pension reform success or failure” depends largely on state leadership, Oloworaran said.

She added that PenCom would support implementation efforts while President Bola Tinubu approved N758 billion for outstanding federal pension liabilities.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Didi Walson-Jack described pension reform as essential for protecting workers’ dignity, strengthening trust, and guaranteeing stability for retirees after years of national service.

She said the Contributory Pension Scheme improved transparency, accountability, and sustainability.

She urged participating states to embrace stronger collaboration with PenCom and stakeholders toward reliable pension administration and dignified retirement benefits nationwide.