Minister advocates for ‘attractive’ pension system

Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has canvased for a better pension system to enable retirees to live comfortably after exiting civil service.

Onyeama, while addressing staff members and diplomats that retired in the ministry in 2017, stressed the need to make retirement and pension attractive so that retirees could really look forward to it as obtainable in other parts of the world.

He recalled his 30-year working experience in an international system, where a lot of people usually planned for early retirement.

“They wanted to still be young to engage with their families again and give them the attention they deserve.

“So they always look forward to retirement as a wonderful opportunity to live instead of existing and working. But I suppose this works well where we have systems that have better pension system that really make it possible for retirees to live comfortably after their working years,” he said.

The minister, however, charged the retirees to explore the numerous opportunities in retirement.

Ambassador Naomi Chukwumaeze, who spoke on behalf of the retirees, expressed concern over a system that makes civil servants to retire before the age of 60.

Chukwumaeze said it is an “anomaly” for a worker to retire at the age of 55 or below because such had worked for 35 years.

She therefore urged government to review the system to accommodate workers who have served for 35 years but were yet to attain 60 years.