Pensioners write Tinubu, want to pull out of PENCOM

From Jude Owuamanam, Jos

Pensioners in the contributory pension scheme under the aegis of the Correctional Officers Pencom Retirees Association of Nigeria

(COPRAN) have asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pull correctional officers out of the the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM) as it has contributed to the woes of pensioners in the country.

In an open letter to the president signed by President COPRAN, Plateau State chapter,  DSC. Anthony Ayiwulu (rtd, and Secretary General, DSC Peter Ripji (rtd), the pensioners said that despite the fact that pension administrators keep 75 per cent of the contribution to the detriment of the contributors who keep 25 per cent payment of monthly pensions have been irregular and goes unpaid for months.

They cited the case of African Alliance Insurance Company, which is owing months of pensions to it’s annuitants.

The letter said in part, “Your Excellency, the basic complaint of this association to you is regarding the’ PENCOM’ contributory scheme that has inflicted untold hardship on us

instead of development.

“The Pencom scheme act introduced in 2004 and Amended in 2014 has resulted in the death and economic set back of hundreds of retirees of the Nigeria Correctional Service because the scheme has subjected us into abject poverty.

The in human scenario is that the P encom gives only 25% of retirement benefits to a retiree on retirement and holds 75% and pays monthly pension of a single digit pension percentage to Retirees through pension

Administrator and custodians. (Insurance companies and banks).

“Even some of the Pension administrators and custodians have been failing us by making irregular monthly pension payment for instance the African Alliance Insurance PLC, an Incorporated company having it’s Registered

Office at 112 Broad street Lagos, has stopped paying some of the PENCOM pensioners for over six (6) months with unexplained reasons.

“While Retirees are languishing in deprivation Pencom is investing or marketing

with our huge benefits in billions of Naira.

“Due to the above, hundreds of us cannot build a house, effectively educate our children and feed the family due to the meager monthly pensions, and worst of some of us have been forced to die too untimely.”

The retirees therefore implored the president to “to pull  the Retirees of the Nigeria Correctional Service out from the “PENCOM SCHEME” so that the hardship and exploitation

we are experiencing are stopped.

This, they said will align with the the national policies the president has effectively embarked upon to eradicate poverty in then ation