24 states enact CPS

State governments made considerable progress in the level of implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the third quarter of 2018, as 24 states enacted relevant laws affecting workers pension, a report has shown.The report is titled: Draft Third Quarter Report: Update on Implementation by the State Governments by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).The commission stated that out of the 24 states of the Federation that had enacted laws on the CPS, six were at the bill stage.It further noted that five states had, however, decided to adopt a pension scheme other than the CPS.In this regard, two states had already drafted pension reform bills that were undergoing legislative processes, while one state had not commenced reforming its pension system.Apart from enacting laws on the CPS, 12 out of the 36 states had began remittance of contributions into the Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) of their employees.Similarly, eight states had commenced the funding of their Retirement Benefit Bond Redemption Fund Accounts (RBBRFAs), the commission said.To monitor the implementation of the CPS by state governments, a road map covering a period of 12 to 18 months was developed for the engagement of labour unions, state employees, state governments and other stakeholders, to positively influence state compliance.In this regard also, the commission conducted a routine inspection of the Delta State and Local Government Pension Bureau.The report read: The purpose of the inspection was to ascertain the level of implementation of the CPS as well as the administration of the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) for the state and local government employees.Similarly, the commission conducted an inspection of the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) to determine the level of compliance of the state with its Pension Law. In addition, the draft reports of the routine inspections carried out on both the Jigawa State and local governments Contributory Pension Scheme Board and the Kaduna State Pension Bureau were forwarded to the Board and the Bureau for review before the official presentation to the State Governors.The Commission also conducted a training workshop on the workings of the CPS for the Joint Union of Plateau State owned Tertiary Institutions (JUPTI). The Union had earlier, at a public hearing conducted by the Plateau State House of Assembly on the draft Bill on the CPS, vehemently opposed the adoption of the scheme. At the end of the workshop, JUPTI expressed appreciation to the commission for the exposure on the scheme, while promising to forward its areas of concern on the Plateau State.The Commission had presented a paper on the workings of the CPS at an interactive session for the Federal Capital Territory Directorate Cadre staff. The session was aimed at enlightening the staff on recent developments in pension administration in Nigeria. Sensitisation workshops were also conducted for Managed Healthcare Services Limited (MHSL) and the Association for Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) at Lagos and Osun States, respectively.
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