Katsina Workers Have Nothing to Fear Over New Pension Scheme, Committee Chair Assures

Katsinatimes 

The Chairman of the Katsina State Pension and Gratuity Reform Committee, Dr. Faruk Aminu, has assured civil servants that the state's new Contributory Pension Scheme is transparent, secure and designed to protect workers' retirement benefits.

Speaking during a special Hausa programme on Katsina State Radio, Aminu said the pension reform introduced by the administration of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda was aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of pension funds by blocking leakages and preventing the diversion of retirement savings.

He explained that the new scheme differs from the earlier pension model adopted from Jigawa State and is specifically designed to benefit public servants with at least five years of service.

According to him, the state government has established the State Pension Bureau and the State and Local Government Pension Transition Board to ensure that all categories of workers are adequately covered under the new arrangement.

He said the two agencies would work together to eliminate the backlog of pension liabilities and improve pension administration across the state.

The Director-General of the Katsina State Pension Bureau, Alhaji Nuraddeen Audi, said the contributory pension scheme requires both employees and the state government to make statutory contributions, which will form the basis for the payment of gratuities and pensions upon retirement.

Audi added that the bureau has begun refunding deductions previously made from the salaries of workers who were later found to be outside the scope of the new pension scheme.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the State and Local Government Pension Transition Board, Alhaji Muntari Ammani, said the board would continue to manage pension matters relating to workers not covered by the contributory pension scheme.

He clarified that the recent refunds paid to exempted workers were reimbursements of deductions previously made from their salaries.

Ammani also said one of the major achievements of the Pension and Gratuity Reform Committee was the creation of a comprehensive database of serving and retired civil servants in the state.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Katsina State Pension Board Governing Council, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi, reiterated that workers had no cause for concern over the new pension policy.

He assured that the Radda administration remains committed to improving the welfare of civil servants both during their years of service and after retirement.