Director-General, National Pension Commission, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar
Pension operators and the Nigeria Labour Congress, on Tuesday, opposed the Nigeria Police Force’s request for exemption from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The NPF made a presentation at the National Assembly on its intention to quit the CPS and return to the old Defined Benefits Scheme.
Stakeholders in the financial sector also made requests to demand that a minimum of 75 per cent of the workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts with the Pension Fund Administrators should be given to pensioners at retirement.
They spoke during the public hearing in Abuja for stakeholders and the general public under the Chairman, House Committee on Pensions, Kabiru Rurum.
Presentations from different stakeholders were made on a bill for an Act to amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 to provide for the exemption of the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS and for related matters.
There was also a bill for an Act to amend Section 1(c), 7(2), 8(1), 24 and 99 of the Pension Reform Act CAP50 LFN 2014 by providing that a pensioner should receive at least 75 per cent of his retirement benefits immediately upon retirement and criminalise the undue delay in the payment of pension.
Pension operators at the event, however, said the agitations of the police to pull out and demand for minimum of 75 per cent lump sum would cost the country N2tn, and make Nigerian retirees poor.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sanusi Lemu, who represented the Inspector General of Police said there was a compelling need to review the Pension Reform Act 2014.
“It would be recalled that in 2004, the National Pension Act was established by the National Assembly and since its inception, the crave for an improved pension scheme for the Nigerian Police remains a mirage in view of the difficulties experienced by the Nigerian Police officers,” he said.
He said the police was convinced that a review of the law would address the challenges and be in the interest of the serving and retired officers.
In his presentation, the Chief Executive Officer, Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria, Oguche Agudah, said the police request for an exemption from the CPS would take Nigeria back to the dark ages before the pension reforms.
He said it would portend a risk to the financial sector because the total pension assets of N13.42tn had been invested in FGN bonds, treasury bills and other investment assets, which he said must be liquidated before the funds could be made available.
According to the Director-General, National Pension Commission, Aisha Dahiru-Umar, demanding at least 75 per cent lump sum is not constitutional.
The Nigeria Labour Congress also opposed the proposed exemption of the Nigeria Police Force from the scheme.
The NLC said the move would pose an additional financial burden on the Federal Government, leading to unsustainable pension obligations.
The Head of International Relation and National Assembly Liaison, NLC, Uche Ekwe, said if government bodies were getting exempted from the scheme, it should not be forced on others.
“Where will the money to fund the Defined Benefits Scheme for the exempted officers come from? Will it still be funded from the national budget, that currently is hardly sufficient to fund other commitments of the government, including healthcare and social security?” he asked.
The NLC leader also stated that the government would not be able to sustain pension payments under the Defined Benefits Scheme.
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