Kaduna Govt releases N920m for payment of pensions, gratuities

The Kaduna State Government has released N920 million for the settlement of outstanding pension liabilities, death benefits of deceased civil servants and gratuities.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Pension Bureau, Prof. Salamatu Isah, on Wednesday in Kaduna.

She said that the amount covered batch 54 for the state and local government retirees and death benefits.

Isah said that the payment would be in the old ”Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS)”.

The executive secretary further disclosed that the state pensioners and retired civil servants would get N400 million, while their counterpart from the local government service would receive N520 million.

Isah further explained that the payment which is under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), would be done by the Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs).

“Such savings, known as Accrued Rights, are the retirees’ entitlements paid to PFAs instead of individual beneficiaries,” she said.

According to reports, the ODS is the pension scheme that was in effect in Nigeria until 2007 when it was replaced with the CPS as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act (PFA) 2004 and 2014.

Under the DBS, the total pension obligation is borne by government as against the CPS where the accumulated pension at retirement is based on a pension plan in which an employer/employee contribute in varying percentages to build a retirement fund for an individual.

Under the CPS, the pension fund exists from the onset and payments can be made as at when due unlike the DBS which is wholly dependent on government treasury for funding.