The National Pension Commission on Wednesday urged states to implement the Contributory Pension Scheme saying it remained the best option for retirees.
Dan Ndackson, Head of States Operations Department in the commission, made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of a Consultative Forum organised by the commission in Port Harcourt.
He said that the commission was in Rivers as part of its tour of 36 states to identify the challenges and delay in the implementation of the scheme in the state.
Ndackson said it was the duty of employers to ensure the remittance of the contributions of workers.
He said: “The PFAs cannot give what they do not have. If the employers remit the contributions of workers, then the PFAs will have no choice but to release the contributions.
“The question that should be asked is if the employers in the various sectors in Rivers state have remitted the contributions of workers as deducted.’’
Ndackson revealed that the CPS was better than the Defined Benefit Scheme due to the strict compliance with the provisions of the new pension scheme.
He said under CPS rule, that there were no assurances that workers would take home gratuity, adding that the law only guaranteed “minimum pension” on monthly basis.
Ndackson, however, said that an employer and employee could negotiate for additional severance package outside the CPS contribution.
He said: “So, a proportion of what a worker should take home on retirement is subject to many considerations and not something that is the same across board.
“What the federal law tries to guarantee is minimum pension, but it could be different in states depending on their pension laws.
“If a worker is earning N50, 000; what the law tries to ensure is that such retirees’ monthly pension should not be less than N25, 000.
“So, in the CPS, the National Pension Scheme acts as an advocate while under the DBS regime, there wasn’t such advocacy. This makes the CPS better.”
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