A group of protesting Federal Government retirees on Tuesday gathered at the Federal Ministry of Finance to demand the release of their accrued unpaid pension entitlements.
The National Chairman, National Union of Contributory Pensioners, Sylva Nwaiwu, led the group in expressing their displeasure over years of unpaid benefits and pleading with the Federal Government to take immediate action.
Accrued rights, defined as pension entitlements earned under the old pension scheme before the 2004 introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme, have not been fully paid to many retired government workers, according to Nwaiwu.
The Pension Act mandates that these entitlements be transferred to the Pension Fund Administrators of each retiree upon their retirement.
However, Nwaiwu claimed that numerous retirees, some of whom retired as early as 2003, have yet to receive these payments, effectively leaving them unable to access their full pension benefits.
During the protest, Nwaiwu stated, “We have elderly pensioners here who have served this nation faithfully, yet they have been left without the financial security they earned. We are calling for the immediate release of our accrued rights to enable our members to access their funds through the Pension Account Settlement System (PASS).”
The demonstrating pensioners brought attention to the fact that many retired workers are in dire financial straits and are unable to meet their basic needs due to the lack of access to their accumulated entitlements.
They threatened to step up their efforts if the federal government kept delaying these reimbursements.
Although the Ministry of Finance has not yet responded formally, the pensioners are unwavering and have emphasised that they will not leave until their requests are fulfilled.
