The Nigerian government has released an additional N22 billion through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for accrued pension rights of retirees in MDAs under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
According to a statement posted on PenCom‘s Instagram page on Tuesday night, “these funds were disbursed into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account (domiciled) at the Central Bank of Nigeria. They are meant to settle accrued pension rights for verified retirees of Treasury-funded MDAs.”
“Retirees who were duly verified and enrolled between October 2023 and January 2024 stand to benefit from this disbursement.
“The rights accrued by certain deceased employees are also covered. Pension Fund Administrators have already credited their Retirement Savings Accounts with the funds,” the statement read.
This release brings the total amount paid out of the 2024 Appropriation for accrued pension rights to N66 billion.
After completing the relevant paperwork, retirees must get in touch with their PFAs to get their retirement benefits.
Additionally, PenCom stated that it has instructed PFAs to expedite the payment procedure for every verified retiree.
The Nigerian government released N44 billion in December to pay accrued rights to pensioners who were born between March and September 2023 as well as to those retirees who had passed away.
At the time, the selective accrued rights payout was called out by the Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy.
Instead of fulfilling its legal duties, it criticised the government for taking a charitable employer position when it came to paying accrued entitlements.
