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| Anohu-Amazu |
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said that 73,695 retirees have adopted the latest programme Withdrawal option for the payment of their pensions.
The Commission’s Acting Director-General, Mrs Chinelu Anohu-Amazu
disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Programmed Withdrawal, is a system whereby a retiree is paid his monthly pension for a maximum period of
18 years by his Pension Funds Administrator (PFA).
Anohu-Amazu said the retirees were from the federal and state services as well and the private sector.
She said that 59,748 of those who adopted the programme were men while
13,947 were women.
Similarly, the Acting Director-General said that 5,717 adopted annuity as an option for payments.
She said of the number, 1,679 were men, while women accounted
for 4,058.
Anohu-Amazu said the Commission had paid N189. 7 million as lump withdrawal to retirees at the end of the second quarter of 2013.
"The Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 allows a retiree to utilise Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance for programme withdrawal through Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) or annuity for life from a life insurance company.
"It ensures that every person who worked in either the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory or Private Sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due,’’ she said.
The contributory pension scheme introduced by the Federal Government is aimed at ensuring that every worker receives his retirement benefits as and when due.
The system creates an avenue for retirees to receive their pensions
either under programme withdrawal, life annuity or combination of both.
Annuity is a contract between the annuitant and a service provider, usually an insurance company, for the payment of certain agreed amount of money at given intervals to the annuitant.
Anohu-Amazu explained that life annuity as recommended under the law, was a regular income received from a life insurance company and guaranteed income for retired workers till death.
Furthermore, it is a regular income received from a life insurance company in consideration for payment of premium or transfer of the accumulated savings standing in the Retirement Savings Account of a worker.
She said, "Life annuity is one of the modes of withdrawing retirement benefits under pension reform law.
" It is a regular income received from a life insurance company in consideration for payment of premium or transfer of the accumulated savings standing in the RSA of a worker or part of it at the time
of retirement.
"Section 4 of 2004 pension Act provides that an employee can on retirement make withdrawals from his Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in the form of a programmed monthly or quarterly withdrawal, based on his life expectancy or life annuity bought from a life insurance company.
"The retiree can as well withdraw a lump sum from the balance in his RSA provided the amount left in the account after the withdrawal is enough to fund a life annuity or programme withdrawal of not less than 50 per cent of his annual remuneration at the date of retirement’’ she concluded. (NAN)
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