BETTER ASSISTANCE FOR PENSIONERS

 Pensioners ask the government for better assistance.

Through RoseAdventure mary Iwunze

The federal government has been urged to improve the welfare of retirees and workers by pensioners operating under the auspices of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme (NUPCPS).

The government's Contributory Pension Scheme, or CPS, arrangement is still not in retirees' best interests, claims NUPCPS.

Comrade Bisan Olufemi John, the Secretary of the Union, stated at the 8th Annual National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors, NAIPE, that the government cannot successfully address the economy if the needs of both pensioners and those who are currently in the workforce are not sufficiently met.

The people, he continued, are the ones who will contribute most to making such a reality a reality. The federal government has been working hard to get the economy working.The employees must come first, and the government must try to improve their welfare so that they can make a sufficient contribution to the economy. The economy shouldn't come before the people.

He alleges that despite some retirees' annuity money being stranded in some insolvent insurance companies, the government has been delaying the payment of group life insurance claims to next of kin of deceased federal officials for more than three years as required under the Pension Reform Act of 2014.

He also urged the government to give retirees more options for happiness, arguing that their welfare should extend beyond just receiving their stipends.

For her part, Comrade Funmi Sessi, Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), bemoaned that Nigerian pensioners were still unable to receive the just rest, adding that they needed to work for their benefits before they could relax and enjoy the rewards of their labor.