Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu Yet To Implement Contributory Pension Scheme

Posted by African Examiner Uncategorized Sunday, November 10th, 2013

Kayode Adelowokan, Lagos

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed that only Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu are the three South-East states that are yet to implement the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for its workers.

Ebonyi state governor, Chief Martin Elechi

The commission’s acting Director General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, disclosed this during the launching of the commission’s South-East zonal office in Awka, Anambra State recently.

Anohu-Amazu said, despite the existence of highly industrious and enterprising intellectuals in the zone, the states are still nursing some signs of unbelief in the scheme.

Imo State, she explained, enacted its law on CPS in 2008 and appointed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to register its employees, but information available to the commission showed that Imo State has suspended the implementation of the scheme.

Anambra State, she stated, only recently enacted its law on the scheme and is still expected to carry out the next necessary steps like setting up administration structure, appointment of PFAs, registration of employees by the PFAs, remittance of pension contributions and determination of accrued pension liabilities of workers, among others.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) acting Director General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, therefore appealed to the states in the zone to subscribe to the new pension scheme. Adding that the commission is currently exploring the possibility of allowing contributors to utilise part of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance to part-finance the acquisition of homes, stressing that the facilities would be availed to states that have fully embraced the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Anambra state Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, thanked the commission for establishing the South-East Zonal office in Awka and assured the commission that the state would follow up on embracing the scheme soon.

Similarly, chairman, senate committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Dr Alloysius Etok, restated the national assembly’s commitment to the reform in the pension industry.

He also confirmed that the report on the proposed amendment of the Pension Reform Act 2004 has been submitted to the House for further consideration.

The newly opened office which is located opposite government house, Onitsha-Enugu expressway, was declared open by the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi.

The PenCom office is the fourth to be formally opened among the commission’s zonal offices in the six geo-political zones of the country.

Three zonal offices had earlier been commissioned in Calabar for the South-South States, Ilorin for the North-Central States and Lagos for the South West States.

PenCom embarked on the establishment of zonal offices to decentralize its activities and bring it closer to the contributors and retirees. With the commission’s presence in the South-East Zone, stakeholders in the pension industry can now avail themselves of the services of the commission by visiting the zonal office to make enquiries, lodge complaints, and seek education on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as well as request for sensitisation and awareness on pension related matters.

Due to the commission’s renewed focus on efficient service, it seeks to reduce the need for contributors and retirees to travel from various parts of the country to Abuja for the singular reason of accessing the PenCom’s services.

The South-East Zonal office in Awka has the mandate to effectively extend the commission’s services to all the five states in the zone namely; Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia.

Anohu-Amazu noted that PenCom had remained steadfast in the implementation of the CPS such that within its few years of existence, some modest achievements have been realised.