Union Bank pensioners take case to stakeholders

Some aggrieved pensioners of Union Bank Plc have appealed to stakeholders in the industry to prevail on the bank to complete the actuarial valuation of its pension legacy assets.

Mr Augustine Onun, the Coordinator, Aggrieved Pensioners of Union Bank Plc, Ibadan Zone, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

Onun said that their members had been facing serious financial challenges due to the slashed monthly pension allegedly caused by the bank’s inaction on the valuation of its pension legacy assets.

He said that as at March 2008, the actuarial variation of legacy assets of Union Bank Pension Scheme was given as N46.711billion, adding that the Pension Commission (PENCOM) in January 2010 confirmed the transfer of N30.51billion.

Onun also claimed that PENCOM had through a letter confirmed that the legacy funds of N30.51billion was transferred to Premium Pension Ltd and AIICO Pension Manager Ltd.

He said that PENCOM had urged the bank’s management to provide evidence of the remaining legacy pension of N16.2 billion and the accrued right of N26.57billion to their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).

The commission, according to Onun, had stated that the bank did not comply with Part IV (C) 2 of the PENSION Reform Act 2014 as amended.

He alleged that the refusal of the bank to transfer the entire retirement benefits of pensioners into their RSAs had short changed retirees.

He claimed that several appeals made to the bank’s management by stakeholders such as PENCOM, Union Bank Pensioners Association and NUBIFIE retirees were ignored.

The group called on other stakeholders to intervene to help assuage the pains of retirees.

But reacting to the development, Mrs Ugochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, the bank’s Head of Corporate Communication, denied that such an issue was still subsisting.

She claimed that issues bordering on pensions were recently resolved.

Ekezie-Ekaidem also said that the bank would continue to appreciate the services of its pensioners and was ever committed to resolving any outstanding issue in a transparent and fair manner to all parties involved.