The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Omolola Oloworaran, has advised workers enrolled in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to closely monitor their monthly pension contributions to ensure a smooth and timely retirement.

 

Oloworaran gave the advice on Wednesday during the 4th Annual Public Lecture of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) branch, themed “Between Hope and Anxiety: Federal Workers’ Welfare and Realities of the Compulsory PenCom Contributory Fund.”

 

Represented by Mr Nnamdi Duru, the PenCom chief warned that many retirees who experience delays in receiving their benefits are often those who fail to regularly check their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) statements or ignore unresolved issues raised by their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

 

“When a worker monitors the progress of his or her RSA, resolves any problem raised by the PFA and participates in the final pre-retirement verification and documentation exercise, such a worker will retire with a smile as the monthly pension will be paid timely,” she said.

 

Oloworaran explained that the Pension Reform Act of 2004 empowers the commission to regulate and supervise effective administration of pensions nationwide, guaranteeing prompt payment of benefits. She urged workers to escalate complaints to PenCom if their PFAs fail to address them satisfactorily.

 

The Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Kamoru Usman, commended NAAT for choosing a timely topic given the anxieties many retirees face.

 

Earlier, Comrade Temple Onwukwe, Chairman of NAAT-UNN and a member of the UNN Governing Council, said the lecture was designed to bring “town and gown” together to address public servants’ fears over the contributory pension scheme. He highlighted NAAT’s efforts to support the university, including donations of oxygen cylinders, laboratory equipment, and special seats for the Senate Ceremonial Committee, as well as instituting a lifetime cash award for the university’s Best Graduating Student.

 

Onwukwe stressed that the welfare of NAAT members remains the heart of the association’s struggle, noting that delayed pensions and gratuities continue to cause hardship for many retirees.

 

The lecture featured Mr. Chinedu Onah as Chairman of the occasion and Dr. Dan Shere, former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, as keynote speaker.