According to the National Pension Commission’s report titled “Status of Implementation of the CPS and Other Pension Arrangements by the States” in the fourth quarter of 2022, Edo and Kaduna states are the only states that have made pension contributions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The report also reveals that Lagos, Osun, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Benue, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have adopted the remittance of employers’ and employees’ pension contributions. However, some of these states, namely Osun, FCT, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Benue, and Anambra, have pending backlogs.
The report further shows that 25 states have laws on the CPS, with seven states at the Bill stage. Only two states, Jigawa and Kano, have implemented the Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme (CDBS) among the five states that enacted laws on it.
However, Kano is yet to transfer pension assets to a Pension Fund Custodian, while Gombe, Zamfara, and Adamawa states are yet to start the implementation of the CDBS. The report also includes an update on the management of the Ekiti State Retirement Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF), stating that Ekiti State Pension Commission intends to appoint Veritas Glanvills Pensions Limited as one of the PFAs designated to manage its RBBRF based on a letter of November 28, 2022.
“The Commission is in the process of consolidating its review of the Portfolio Management Agreement with those received from Investment, Surveillance, and Legal Departments for Management’s consideration and approval for subsequent adoption by the Ekiti State Pension Commission.”
Regarding Rivers state, Pencom said: “The Rivers State Government informed the Commission in October 2022 of the amendment of the Rivers State Pension Reform Law 2009 to further extend the transition by another three years – June 2022 to July 2025.
“The amendment implies that active employees of Rivers State, who made contributions under the CPS and those due to retire under the CPS up to June 30, 2025, have been transited to the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).”
Regarding the reimbursement of funds from Zamfara State, the commission states:“Messrs Royal Rocks Consulting Limited, consultants to the Zamfara State Government, raised some observations on the Commission’s report on the refund of pension contributions to the Zamfara State Government and its employees.’’
After reviewing the comments, the Commission responded to the consultants, stating that the observed discrepancies in the initial amount expected to be refunded by PFAs and the actual refunds were largely due to incomes that accrued on the RSAs balances before the transfers were made to the state government and its employees.’’
