Retirees beg Tinubu’s govt to effect N32,000 pension increase

Some pensioners have urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to pay the N32,000 pension increment according to the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In interviews with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the pensioners said they needed their entitlements to take care of their feeding, medicals and other bills.

The pensioners, who complained about hardship, urged the federal government to increase their monthly pension in line with the present economic reality.

The national spokesperson of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS), Etheleert Ibeh, urged the government to pay all outstanding arrears of increment.

He said the pensioners had not received any pension increment, whereas the minimum wage had increased many times.

Mr Ibeh said that according to the act, a certain percentage should be added to the pension if there was an increment in minimum wage.

According to him, non-pensioners and pensioners buy things from the same market.

”Before, we received a little pension that we can hardly survive on. And now, with the economic hardship, we still receive the same money. This makes it difficult for us to survive,” Mr Ibeh said.

Obialunanma Uzor, who retired as a deputy director, said nothing had been paid to her since she retired in May 2024, and her health insurance had been stopped.

“My NHIS that was stopped immediately after my retirement has been a huge challenge; I spend a lot on lab tests and drugs instead of just ten per cent,” Ms Uzor said.

Gloria Ogheneyukaro, another pensioner, said some Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) were insincere with their operations.

”They operate selectively. They usually attend to pensioners who choose to remain with programmed withdrawal and ignore those who choose an annuity.

” They should not compel us to be where it benefits them. We have the right to make our decisions since our money is involved,” Ms Ogheneyukaro said.

Musa Adamu, who retired as a director in May 2024, said he had not received his benefits to date.

“We are still waiting for the federal government to release the accrued rights to my PFA to calculate my pension.

“If you look into my eyes, you will know that I need urgent medical attention. We, the pensioners in this country, are suffering,” he said.

Programmed withdrawal is a retirement plan the PFAs offer for monthly/quarterly payments to a retiree for a lifetime.

An annuity is a retirement plan purchased from an approved life insurance company that provides monthly or quarterly income to the retiree during their lifetime.