Low-income pensioners now have the option to either withdraw their entire retirement savings in a lump sum or continue receiving their monthly pension while awaiting approval for the Minimum Pension Guarantee.
A memo from the National Pension Commission, signed by A.M. Salem, Head of the Surveillance Department, explained that this change is in line with Section 4.1 (g) of the revised regulations for managing retirement and terminal benefits, following the recent increase in the minimum wage to N70,000.
Previously, retirees could only access one-third of their total Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) balance.
According to Section 4.1 (g) of the revised regulation, if the balance in a retiree’s RSA is insufficient to provide a monthly or quarterly pension that is at least one-third of the minimum wage (N23,333.33), the retiree is allowed to withdraw the entire balance in a lump sum.
Retirees whose monthly or quarterly pensions fall below N23,333.33 can choose to either withdraw the remaining balance in full or continue receiving their pension until the Minimum Pension Guarantee is approved.
The memo also stated that retirees wishing to request a lump-sum withdrawal of their RSA balance must submit the necessary documentation to the commission for approval.
