Abia State has joined the contributory pension scheme (CPS), according to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), following the state government’s repeal of the 2017 Law and re-enactment of the Abia State Pension Reform Law in November 2024.

PenCom announced this in a series of posts on ‘X,’ noting that the agreement was formalized during a courtesy visit by its Director General, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, to the Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, on December 3, 2024, in Umuahia.

“Abia Steps Up and Joins the Elite League of States Embracing the Contributory Pension Scheme,” one of the posts read.

In August, the Abia State Government, through the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, expressed its resolve to begin a contributory pension scheme for civil servants.

He said: “The state government has concluded plans to introduce a contributory pension scheme for Abia civil servants.”

Mr Kanu said the readiness of the state government to implement measures that would make pension payments seamless and give pensioners a sense of belonging.

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He noted that the government had issued a directive for all pensioners to be paid on the 28th of every month, just like civil servants in the state.

Mr Kanu added that the government mandated that pensioners receive their full monthly pensions, as opposed to the partial payments that had been the practice in the past.

Meanwhile, PenCom assured that it would provide technical support to the state to ensure the seamless implementation of the CPS.

“PenCom will continue to provide technical support to the state government towards a smooth implementation of the CPS,” it stated.