Pensioners want FG to reintroduce gratuity payment

Pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)  has called on the Federal Government to reintroduce the payment of gratuity for pensioners.  The  union accused the government of   shying away from its responsibility as there’s no provision in the Pension Reforms Act that outlawed the payment of gratuity to Pensioners. Chairman of the Nigeria Union of […]

Pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)  has called on the Federal Government to reintroduce the payment of gratuity for pensioners.

 The  union accused the government of   shying away from its responsibility as there’s no provision in the Pension Reforms Act that outlawed the payment of gratuity to Pensioners.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector, Comrade Sylva Nwaiwu expressed the pensioners position at  the second post inaugural congress of the union in Abuja.

He  called  for a review in their entitlements, saying the Federal Government was indebted to pensioners who retired under the CPS, adding that they will continue to fight for their gratuity within the ambit of the law.

He said, “Gratuity is a right to any public worker who retired from service after 10 to 35 years of service. 

“The introduction of the CPS was to address the burden of monthly pension liabilities on the government and not that of gratuity. Hence, there is section of the Pension Reform Act before and as amended by the 2014 pension reform act that explicitly remove gratuity as a legitimate right to retirees. 

“In the old Defined Benefit Scheme,  government pays gratuity to the retirees and thereafter continue to pay monthly pension. In the CPS, government is restricted to the payment of gratuity while the monthly pension of retirees accrue from the combined contributions by government and the workers, but from the inception of the CPS, government has tactically ignored the legitimacy of this important factor in the engagement agreement, without any legal or constitutional justification, thus short changing the CPS retirees.”