Observers Times

Tag: PenCom

  • PenCom Urges States to Fully Implement Pension Reforms

    PenCom Urges States to Fully 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.

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

    Ms Oloworaran spoke on Thursday in Abuja during a consultative meeting with heads of service from states yet to fully implement the contributory pension scheme (CPS) and other approved pension reforms across Nigeria.

    “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,” Ms Oloworaran told participants.

    She said the contributory pension system replaced an older structure associated with uncertainty, delayed payments, weak accountability, and mounting liabilities, while 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory had enacted reform laws.

    Ms Oloworaran expressed concern that only seven states and the Federal Capital Territory had fully implemented the reforms 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, Ms 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.

    (NAN)

  • PenCom Begins Disbursement of N758 Billion to Retirees

    PenCom Begins Disbursement of N758 Billion to Retirees

     

    The director-general of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, says the commission has begun the disbursement of N758 billion bond approved by the federal government to clear outstanding pension liabilities.

    Ms Oloworaran said this while giving her one-year scorecard at the Pension Revolution Summit in Abuja on Monday.

    She said that the N758 billion bond approved by President Bola Tinubu in February had been cashed.

    She said that over N600 billion had been disbursed to clear the outstanding liabilities.

    According to her, the country’s pension assets have grown to about N27 trillion as a result of the bold decision and structured reforms.

    Ms Oloworaran said that a lot had been achieved in the industry in the last year.

    She said that the commission had rebuilt the trust, expanded coverage, strengthened governance, and moved the contributory pension scheme firmly into the next phase.

    “Over a year ago, I was confirmed as the DG with a clear mandate to rebuild trust. We expanded coverage, we strengthened governance, and moved the contributory pension scheme firmly into the next phase.

    “I am proud to say that this past year has been defined by bold decisions, structural refunds and measurable impacts,” she said.

    Ms Oloworaran added, “That was the most comprehensive reform agenda in the Nigerian pension industry since 2004. This was not a cosmetic reform.

    “It was structural. It brought together new regulations, stronger supervision, governance reforms, digital transformation, and industry realignment. All of these were designed to ‘future proof’ the pension industry and position it as a pillar of national stability and long-term development.”

    (NAN)