The New Contributory Pension Scheme Administration and Prompt and Regular Payment of Pensioners in Nigeria: An Appraisal

Pension administration has been a recurrent problem in the Nigeria public service since independence in 1960. The need to have a sustainable pension system necessitated the introduction of the Pension Reform Act 2004.The introduction of the scheme has generated intellectual debate amongst scholars, experts and stake holders, about the significance, efficacy and sustainability of the scheme, as regards the prompt and regular payment of pension benefit as specified by the objectives of the scheme. The broad objectives of this study is to examine the challenges associated with administration of the contributory pension’s scheme in Nigeria, concerning the prompt and regular payment of pension to retirees. The specific of the scheme are to examine the prompt and regular payment of pension; and to determine the level of awareness of the retirees about pension process. Simple percentage was used in analyzing data. The result revealed that, retirees frequently faced the dismal challenge of delayed payment of their pension benefit, especially those with accrued right, there are also issues of delayed monthly pension payment, due to miscalculation or system error. The study revealed that the survivors of the deceased retiree find it difficult to receive their retirement benefit. The study also showed that there are still doubts concerning the capacity of the retirement redemption fund, which is one of the succors provided by the act, to guarantee the prompt and regular payment of pension. Base on the forgoing findings, the study suggested that accrued right should be placed on the first line charge and exempted from the cumbersome envelop budgeting process, including the establishment of an accrued right unit saddled with the responsibility of managing accrued right, among others.