Pension fund administrators in Niger State have gotten the green light from the National Pension Commission to start refunding 7.5 per cent of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, to exempted pensioners.
This was announced by the director general of the Niger State Pension Board, Mallam Nasiru Saidu Namaska, during the payment of gratuity to Batch Nine beneficiaries in Minna.
Namaska explained that pension fund administrators will issue a letter of no objection this week, paving the way for refunds to start immediately after.
He said the goal is to complete the refunds before the end of December while commending Governor Umar Mohammed Bago for providing funds for retirement benefits on time.
He assured that the board is working tirelessly to ensure timely payment of retirement benefits.
However, he stated that there is a shortfall in the number of Batch Nine beneficiaries, arising from omissions of retired permanent secretaries some of whom will be captured in the tenth batch.
He urged retirees to exercise patience as every person shall be paid his retirement benefits as and when due.
Additionally, Namaska appealed to pensioners to participate in the AM ALIVE verification exercise, which is scheduled to begin in January 2025.
“Pensioners will need to visit any bank of their choice to complete the verification process,” he added.