The Act places certain obligations upon the employer who are therefore expected by law to comply with such obligations. Non-compliance is unacceptable because it puts the future of the employee at risk. The Act provides PENCOM, the regulator, with powers to enforce compliance. Where there is non-compliance by the regulator, the Act also has provided regimes of sanctions for non-compliance. The non-compliance of the federal government, with some of the obligations placed upon it in the Act as the largest employer in the country, is the weakest link in the pension reform; the Contributory Pension Scheme; and the regulation of the pension industry.
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The Commission operates under a Board of Directors (The Board) headed by a part-time Chairman with the Director General as the Chief Executive Officer. The Board is made up of representatives of critical stakeholders, such as the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Federal Ministry of Finance; Nigeria Labour Congress; Trade Union Congress of Nigeria; Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Nigeria Employers Consultative Association; Central Bank of Nigeria; Securities and Exchange Commission; Nigerian Stock Exchange; and National Insurance Commission.
The greatest challenge the NLC has so far faced since the administration of the affairs of Congress were returned to elected trade union leaders in January 1999, which was self-inflicted, was the post-10th National Delegates Conference 2015 crisis. As much as we would have wished it never happened, it did and the labour movement, especially the NLC, had its image dented. The crisis took away our solidarity, which is the one pillar that makes our organisation, the NLC, strong. Employers, especially the federal government, surely celebrated the conflict albeit quietly because the government as the biggest employer in Nigeria was the beneficiary while it lasted.
The Contributory Pension Scheme, unlike the old Define Benefit Scheme that it replaced, has inbuilt safeguards meant to protect the fund from mismanagement and fraudulent practices. The scheme is fully funded through monthly contributions, which are put into Retirement Saving Accounts (RSAs) owned by employees. Employers cannot access the funds. The funds are warehoused by Pension Fund Custodians and managed by Pension Fund Administrators. The law established the National Pension Commission, among other objectives, to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters and retirement benefits in Nigeria.
Social security means measures, processes and systems aimed at providing, maintaining and ensuring a humane and dignified standard of living not only for those working but for general citizenry who for one reason or the other are incapacitated and unable to earn a living.
In consideration of a better old age for workers, the Act established a CPS as a panacea to old age poverty and destitution, especially for those who had been on paid employment in their active age. The CPS guarantees pension, which is an amount of money paid regularly and periodically to a member of the scheme who is no longer capable of working as a result of either ill-health or old age.
I know retirees who have been on retirement for 8 to 9 years. The balance in their RSAs today is slightly higher than it was after they collected the initial lump sum. What that means is that for 8 and 9 years, the pensions they have been collecting have been coming from the return on investment. It is therefore not possible for the pension of these retirees to terminate after fifteen years when there is fund in the RSA to continue to pay monthly pension. Since the commencement of the CPS in 2004, retirees under programmed withdrawal have had their monthly pension enhanced twice. The quantum is a discussion for another day.
The CPS is mandatory for all employees in the public service. However, certain public officers are exempted from it. These officers are judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. These judicial officers are through the provisions of Section 291 of the the 1999 (as amended) entitled to pension for life at a rate equivalent to their last annual salary and their allowances in addition to any other retirement benefits to which they may be entitled. Others exempted include members of the armed forces, the intelligence and secrete services of the federation; any employee who is entitled to retirement benefits under any pension scheme existing before the 25th day of June 2004 but as at that date had 3 or less years to retire.
Prior to the coming into force of the Pension Reform Act 2004, pension schemes in Nigeria were categorised into public and private sectors. The public sector had the Pay As You Go (PAYG) Defined Benefits Scheme, which was bedevilled with many problems. Against the backdrop of an estimated N2 trillion deficit, budgeted appropriations for pension benefits had over the years fallen far short of promised benefits. This was further compounded by late release and sometimes, non-release of funds. Pension arrears owed to military, police, customs, immigration and prisons including civilian pension departments alone were estimated at N56 billion as at the end of June 2004. The pension crisis in the more than 300 federal government parastatals was alarming as most of these schemes remained under-funded.
For all incidences of rape, society is the loser. Depending on the nature of rape, women are not only the losers, but both women and men. In the case of rape committed against a wife, daughter, sister or relatives, there are multiple losers but women become the most affected, the most traumatised and the most depressed for ever. Rape must be elevated as a crime against humanity and the severest punishment must be imposed to serve as deterrent to those men or boys who cannot control the animalistic instinct in them.