A Non-governmental Organisation, the Contributory Pension and Happy Retirement Advocacy (COPEHRA), has appealed to the incoming administration to give priority to the development of adoptive and inclusive pension administration.

The Group also called on the federal government to increase the current pension contributions for the police force to 100 per cent.

The Legal Adviser of COPHERA, Mr Oyiminu Audu, made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja.

Speaking further, Audu noted that it was worrisome that in the manifesto of the contenders for Presidency, issues of pension or retirement were not a priority.

Audu said that a common element of the mandate of all the presidential candidate was economic boost, saying that pension was a major factor of the well-being of any society.

She expressed hope that the contributions of the frontline contenders in enacting laws for reform of the pension sector in their jurisdictions would usher the desired growth in the industry.

“Incoming Federal Government should increase employer’s contributions for officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by 100 per cent to ensure a robust Retirement Savings Account (RSA) for them.

“Currently it is 10 per cent and there is a need to increase to 20 per cent so as to address the agitations of the officers who want to leave,” the NGO noted.

The legal adviser said that given the importance of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), there was the need to ensure that the pension industry became all inclusive and proactive by bringing the informal sector in.

“We call on all workers in the informal and semi-formal sectors to key into the Micro Pension Plan (MPP).

“This initiative expanded the implementation of the CPS to the informal sectors such as low income earners, self employed, SMEs and artisans,” he said.

Audu urged state governments to key into the noble scheme of CPS for the happiness of their retirees.

She commended the National Pension Commission (NPC) management for their continuous reform and vigilance to safeguard funds set aside for payment of pension in the country.