Pension Challenges: FG engages stakeholders, pensioners to brainstorm on solution

By Paul Efiong, Abuja

The Federal Government on yesterday, engaged the stakeholders as well as the retirees from the civil service in a town hall meeting to brainstorm on lasting solutions to pension challenges.
With the theme “Towards Effective Pension Administration in the Federal Public Service”.
Sources closed to us said the “aim of the meeting is to seek contributions from the participants to offer sustainable effective solutions to pensioners’ challenges of receiving their due entitlements immediately after retirement from civil service”
Addressing the participants, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esa, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), highlighted that the meeting came as result of consultations with several stakeholders, representatives of pension administrators, including the retirees from the service.
Yemi-Esan said further that the town hall meeting was mostly about the pressure her office received from people, and had decided to make it known publicly to address and proffer lasting solutions, even as the review of the pension reform acts of 2014/was ongoing.
“I am just here to say that, we in the office of the HOCSF are responsive to the needs of pensioners, just as we are responsive to the needs of serving civil servants.
“And the most interesting thing is that, we must start to prepare for retirement while in service.”
The HOS, therefore, urged the participant to identify challenges militating against the effective implementation of both Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) as well as propose solutions to them.
Dr Chioma Ejikeme, Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), said the agency was established as a result of pension reform, adding that PTAD was committed to carry out its responsibilities to ensure the welfare of pensioners.