Khadijah Shehu Abdulkareem
ABUJA, NIGERIA – All retired federal employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are set to receive a N32,000 monthly pension increase, following the approval of a N758 billion bond by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to clear outstanding pension liabilities.
The increment will benefit retirees in the education, health, security, and Armed Forces sectors, irrespective of their accumulated savings. It also ensures that pensioners benefit from the National Minimum Wage Amendment Act 2024 and consequential adjustments.
President Tinubu had, on August 6, directed the “prompt implementation of long-overdue pension increases and a minimum pension guarantee,” aimed at providing a safety net for vulnerable retirees under the CPS.
Officials of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) confirmed that with the National Assembly’s concurrence, the bond proceeds would soon be available for disbursement.
“The pension increase and minimum pension guarantee means setting a baseline that every CPS retiree would receive, no matter how small their savings are. This protects the poorest and most vulnerable from falling into poverty,” a PenCom official explained.
PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, outlined how the N758 billion bond would be distributed:
• N253 billion to clear accrued rights for federal workers employed before the CPS began in 2004, and those close to retirement at the time.
• N387.5 billion to settle pension increases dating back to 2007, which had remained unpaid for nearly two decades.
“This intervention clears the backlog of accrued rights payments and will end the delays in pension disbursements that have frustrated retirees for years,” Oloworaran said.
The federal government assured that the initiative would restore confidence in the pension system while safeguarding the welfare of retired workers.