Pensioners appeal to FG to release accrued rights

Many pensioners who retired in 2024, have appealed to the Federal Government to release accrued pension rights to their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), so their pension entitlements can be paid while they are still alive.

The pensioners, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, said they needed their entitlements to take care of their feeding, medicals and other bills.p

According to them, we are suffering amid the current economy realities.

Mr Sani Bello, who retired in June 2024, said that government needs to release accrued pension rights so their PFAs could calculate their lump sum and start paying them monthly.

” Without this payment nothing can be done.

” We have turned beggars months after retirement and this is not fair to us after putting in 35 years in service.

” I appeal to the government under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu to take action fast” he said.

Mr Uzor James, who retired from the Federal Ministry of Education in April 2024, said he had not received his retirements to date.

“We are still waiting for the Federal Government to release the accrued rights to my PFA to calculate my pension.

“My family and I are hungry. I can’t pay my children’s school fees. My landlord is on my neck and to top it all, I can’t access the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) anymore.

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“If you look into my eyes, you will know that I need urgent medical attention. We the pensioners in this country are suffering,” he said.

Mrs Ahmed Farida, who retired as a Deputy Director, said that nothing had been paid to her since she retired in May 2024, and her health insurance had been stopped.

“My NHIS was stopped immediately after my retirement, this is a huge challenge, I spend a lot on lab tests and drugs instead of just ten per cent.

” We pensioners need health insurance, we are old and need medical attention now,” Farida said

She said that none pensioners and pensioners buy things from the same market.

” Some of us who still have children in school, how do they pay their school fees? Some of us live in a rented apartment, how do they pay? how do we feed and pay for medical bills.

“Once you get to 60 years, you can no longer access your health insurance, whereas, it is that period you need it most, ” Farida said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the  Federal Government had released N44 billion in December 2024 as part of the first payment of the accrued pension rights to retirees.

It also released another N22 billion in January, which brought the total disbursement to N66 billion.