Workers Fake Deaths to Get Pension Benefits

The National Pension Commission has vowed to go tough on relatives, workers and retirees who fake deaths of contributors to the Contributory Pension Scheme in order the get the benefits entitled to deceased persons.

To ensure that a worker is truly dead apart from other means of verification, PenCom has also asked the banks to close the accounts of reported dead persons so that they would not be able to operate bank accounts again in the country.

The pension industry’s regulator decided on this move due to growing incidences of fake deaths being organised to get out the balances in the Retirement Savings Accounts of reported dead workers.

The Head, Benefits & Insurance Department, PenCom, Obiora Ibeziako, disclosed this while speaking on administration of retirement benefits and efforts to safeguard the pensions of workers.

He said, “Nigerians have been dying and resurrecting. If you send us a notification that you are dead, we will make sure that your bank blocks your account also.

“We have seen people fake their own deaths; we have seen spouses fake the deaths of their partners when the PFAs start the due process.

“In fact, in a particular case, they were processing a man’s death benefit and he walked in and everybody picked up. The wife had actually procured obituary announcement, everything that required to be done without the man knowing.”