PenCom records higher percentage of contributory pension scheme registration

• 77% of the contributors below 40 years of age

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that about 77 per cent of the contributors were below 40 years of age.

The commission explained that higher percentage of younger workers that have joined the Contributory Pension Scheme will help to sustain the system.

According to the body, “A review of the sectorial distribution for the quarter ended December 31, 2020 showed that 42,455 (or 62 per cent) of the registrations were from the private sector.

“The public sector accounted for 22,718 (or 33 per cent) of the contributors registered while the Micro Pension Plan had 3,654 (or 5.3 per cent) of the RSAs (retirement savings accounts) registered during the period under review.

“A breakdown of the RSA registrations during the quarter showed that about 77 per cent of those that joined the CPS were below 40 years of age. This points to the increasing sustainability of the CPS, as the younger generation are actively being enlisted into the scheme.

“Further analysis on the gender distribution revealed that 63 per cent of those that registered were male, while 37 per cent were female.”

Recalled that the PenCom Director-General, Aisha Umar, disclosed this while presenting her welcome remarks during the oversight visit of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Services to the commission in Abuja recently that most federal government workers that retired from March 2020 to March 2021 have not been paid their pensions.

Umar said, “It is perhaps appropriate at this juncture to highlight some of the major challenges of the commission.

“As you are aware, the fundamental objective of the pension reform is to ensure that every worker receives their retirement benefits as and when due.

“However, it is sad to report that there are, today, a large number of Federal Government employees who retired from March 2020 to March 2021 under the Contributory Pension Scheme that are yet to receive their pensions due to non-payment of their accrued pension rights.