BY Business a.m.
All entitlements due pensioners on the payroll of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) have been fully settled, with over N17.73 billion of inherited liabilities from defunct agencies now cleared.
The directorate, in a pension payment update it made available recently, said in line with its mandate to transform the management of the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), it has ensured that monthly pension payment is prompt, consistent and unbroken since 2014 when it took over pension payment, adding that this standard was maintained even during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020.
Giving some details of the disbursements, PTAD said in June 2022, N9.2 billion was paid as monthly pension to 229,256 verified and eligible pensioners across the civil service, police, parastatals, customs, immigration and prisons pension departments, while N351.2 million was paid as pension arrears to 3,089 pensioners. It added that incidences of failed pension payments in June 2022 to pensioners have also been further presented on the GIFMIS payment platform and confirmed by the affected pensioners.
PTAD disclosed that in December 2021 it completed payment of all inherited liabilities due to ex-workers of two defunct agencies made up of 287 pensioners of Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation at N948 million and 509 pensioners of New Nigerian Newspapers Limited at N2.1 billion.
Three other defunct agencies also had their pensioners paid of which 11,239 were NITEL/MTEL pensioners at N11.6 billion; 1,046 NICON Insurance Corporation pensioners at N1.1 billion, and 3,657 Delta Steel Company Limited pensioners at N1.8 billion.
PTAD also disclosed that after a 9.7 percent increment to ex-PHCN workers, it paid N6.8 billion in December 2021 to all eligible 9,389 ex-PHCN retirees.
The directorate also showed in the report that it had fully paid pension arrears for Consequential Pension Adjustment approved in April 2021 with effect from April 2019 across three pension departments, except civil service pensioners whose three months balance was paid in May 2022.
