Kaduna State Government on Thursday said it will by the end of March commence the payment of N30,000 as the new minimum pension for its retirees who are on the old Defined Benefits Pension scheme.
The state government said by the action, it will upgrade 11,511 pensioners previously earning less than N30,000 as their monthly pension adding that the upward review will cost the state an extra N200 million monthly.
A statement issued by Governor Nasiru El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Muyiwa Adekeye explained that all government agencies have received a circular from the office of the Head of Service to effect the new pension structure.
The statement explained that the circular directs the agencies to comply and implement the directive of the State Executive Council which recently reviewed upward the minimum pension in the state.
While quoting from the circular which was issued on 11 March, Adekeye said the increase was part of the State Government’s ‘’continuous efforts to ensure welfare for both serving and retired public servants.’’
It recalled that some of the 11,511 pensioners who will benefit from the new minimum pension had been receiving pensions as low as N3000 before the increase.
“A report presented to the State Executive Council noted that as at November 2019, 6452 of 10,815 state government pensioners earned less than N30,000 as monthly pension. At local government level, 5059 of 9,295 pensioners earned less than N30,000 monthly,” it stated.
