By Rosemary Onuoha

Under CPS, a worker who retired mandatorily on attaining 60 years of age or 35 years in service or retired voluntarily on attainment of 50 years of age, is expected to present an official notice of retirement/exit from last employer, his last pay slip not less than three (3) months from the date of retirement (stamped and signed by employer) or any evidence of last annual remuneration and a certified true copy of the Retirement Bond certificate if he is retiring from the public sector.

If he is retiring from the private sector or self-funding Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA), he will provide evidence of any accrued pension entitlements not remitted into his RSA and a confirmation of any contributions owed by his employer as well as an evidence of the terms and conditions of employment for those retiring from the private sector.

In addition to the above, the retiring worker is expected to submit a duly completed Retirement Withdrawal form, two passport photographs, completed Programmed Withdrawal Agreement and Retiree Indemnity form deposed to before a Commissioner of oath or Notary Public, Birth Certificate/Age Declaration and photocopy of any form of identification (i.e. driver’s license, National ID, etc.).

If one is retiring on medical ground, in addition to the above, he is expected to present a certified true copy of a medical certificate issued by a properly constituted medical board or a suitably qualified physician.

In the case of deceased or missing worker or retirees, the beneficiary under a Will or an Administrator appointed under a Letter of Administration will access the balance in the deceased or missing person’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in line with the Pension Reform Act, 2014 or the Regulations for the Administration of Retirement and Terminal Benefits en-bloc.

The RSA balance of a deceased worker may consist of proceeds of the Group Life Insurance Policy, if he was in employment when he died; the accumulated contribution and accrued pension benefit.

Under the Defined Benefit Scheme, DB, the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), the body charged with the management of Defined Benefits Schemes in the country has introduced a biometric data capturing programme to provide a reliable and comprehensive database of pensioners under the scheme in the country.

Eligible pensioners under this scheme are expected to participate in a biometric verification exercise conducted by the agency for the different organisations under its purview.

Showing up personally and presenting all relevant employment and retirement details during the exercise and follow-up ones is the only thing a retiree under the scheme is expected to do to get his pension monthly. Nobody can influence this process so anybody asking a retiree to pay money to do so on his behalf is a fraudster.

According to the PTAD’s Director in charge of the Pension Support Department, Mrs. Roz Benokagbue, the agency makes sure that the exercise is seamless and that participating retirees enjoy a level of comfort during the exercise.

“We are taking the full biometric capture because the whole point is that we will never have to do this again. This is the only time we will call them together again for verification. In the future, we will just have a mild verification every six months, which will only require their fingerprint. This is just to show that they are still alive. We now have their full details and information,” she assured.