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FG Owes Civil Service Pensioners N85bn
The Federal Government still owes its retirees in the civil service under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) a whooping sum of N85billion.
The N85billion is the outstanding accrued pension arrears from June, 2019 to date, and this is despite the release of the sum of N7.45billion as outstanding accrued rights for the pensioners’ payment two weeks ago by the government.
Investigations reveal that civil servants who retired in the federal civil service cannot get their pensions or access any fund from their pensions through the Retirement Savings Account, even after a year of retirement.
According to the General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Elder Actor Zal, and Chairman, NUP Contributory Pension Sector (NUPCPS), Comrade Sylva Nwaiwu, the N85billion owed the pensioners by the Federal Government was the reason why retirees from the civil service cannot get their pensions after one year of their retirement.
They both attributed this to the failure of successive administrations since 2007 to pay about 15 years accrued pension right of civil servants who have been in the service pre-2007 when the Contributory Pension Scheme commenced as a result of the implementation of the then-new Contributory Pension Act.
The NUP general secretary also confirmed that the money owed by the Federal Government as accrued right for civil servants under the contributory pension scheme is N85billion.
Zal, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the release of the N85billion, which is meant for the accrued right for one year between June, 2019 to date.
He said: “We want to appeal to the Federal Government to come to the aid of pensioners who retired under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), because as we speak now, anybody that retires from June, 2019 till date cannot access their pension. The reason being that the government is yet to pay up the balance of the accrued right to these pensioners and until that is done they cannot access their Retirement Savings Account (RSA).