NGO wants incoming administration to give priority to pension

An NGO, the Contributory Pension and Happy Retirement Advocacy (COPEHRA), has appealed to the incoming administration to give priority to the development of adoptive and inclusive pension administration.

The Legal Adviser of COPHERA, Mr Oyiminu Audu, made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said it was worrisome that in the manifestos of the contenders for Presidency, issues of pension or retirement were not a priority.

Audu said that a common element of the mandate of all the presidential candidate was  economic boost, saying that pension was a major factor of the well-being of any society.

He expressed hope that the contributions of the frontline contenders in enacting laws for  reform of the pension sector  in their jurisdictions would usher the desired growth in the industry.

The legal adviser said that given the importance of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), there was the need to ensure that the pension industry became all inclusive and proactive.

He also called on incoming Federal Government to increase employer’s contributions for officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by 100 per cent to ensure a robust Retirement Savings Account (RSA) for them.

“We call on all workers in the informal and semi-formal sectors to key into the Micro Pension Plan (MPP).

“This initiative expanded the implementation of the CPS to the informal sectors such as low income earners, self employed, SMEs and artisans,” he said.

Audu urged state governments to key into the noble scheme  of CPS for the happiness of their retirees.

He commended the National Pension Commission (NPC) management for their continuous reform and vigilance to safeguard  funds set aside for payment of pension in the country.

The objective of the NGO  is to advocate sustainable and happy retirement for workers.

This it said would be done by creating awareness among the public and private sector practitioners on  value of saving through CPS.