PTAD clears N1.18bn in pension arrears

The Pension Transitional Association Directorate has cleared a complete of N1.18bn in pension arrears over the previous 5 years, from 2020 to 2024, based on information obtained from BudgIT’s accountability platform, GovSpend, on Sunday.

These funds benefitted 1000’s of retired federal staff and are a part of the federal government’s ongoing efforts to handle long-standing pension liabilities affecting numerous sectors of the general public service.

The funds diverse yearly, with the best quantity cleared in 2023. That yr, PTAD paid N591.5m in pension arrears, a rise from the N152.8m cleared in 2020.

In 2021, a complete of N59.08m was cleared, adopted by N39.26m in 2022. In 2024, PTAD disbursed N343m, making certain a considerable portion of the arrears amassed over a number of years was paid to pensioners.

The arrears coated numerous sectors, together with college employees, retired civil servants, and former staff of defunct parastatals such because the Nigeria Nationwide Transport Line and Nationwide Telecommunications.

A number of the funds additionally included these made to retired everlasting secretaries, former accountants normal, and numerous federal civil servants.

For instance, between July and October 2023, PTAD paid over N92m in arrears to retired accountants normal and everlasting secretaries of the federation.

Different beneficiaries included retired employees from universities, ministries, and federal businesses, with funds starting from a number of million naira to bigger sums, resembling N17.3m in April 2024 for arrears owed to NITEL staff.

Regardless of the progress, pensioners have raised issues concerning the timeliness and completeness of the funds, noting that not all retirees have been coated and a few are nonetheless ready for his or her dues to be settled.

Throughout a protest organized by pensioners in November 2024, the Nationwide Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector, Sylva Nuatawu, referred to as for a consequential adjustment in pensions arising from the implementation of the Nationwide Minimal Wage (Modification) Act, 2024.

Nuatawu acknowledged that the union had written a number of letters to the Ministry of Finance with out a response, prompting members to protest on the ministry’s entrance gate.

He urged the federal authorities to pay  N32,000 pension increment to pensioners, declaring that staff who retired from the Contributory Pension Scheme over 20 months in the past (from March 2023 up to now) had but to obtain their retirement advantages.

“CPS retirees have been excluded from the three pension increments paid or authorised by the current administration to retired public servants,” Nuatawu mentioned.

“Moreover, the discharge of funds for accrued rights to retired staff has amassed over 20 months. Nonetheless, three months’ value of accrued rights have been launched after a peaceable rally by the union on the Workplace of the Accountant-Normal of the Federation on October 23,” he added.

He famous that “we nonetheless have a backlog of 18 months but to be launched, and this presents a trigger for concern for us as retired staff below the CPS.”

In January, the Nationwide Pension Fee revealed that the Federal Authorities had launched an extra N22bn by way of the Workplace of the Accountant-Normal of the Federation for the accrued pension rights of retirees in Ministries, Departments, and Businesses below the Contributory Pension Scheme.

In a press release launched on its Instagram web page, PenCom defined that the disbursement was for retirees who had retired between October 2023 and January 2024.

“These funds have been disbursed into the Retirement Advantages Bond Redemption Fund Account, domiciled on the Central Bank of Nigeria, and are supposed to settle accrued pension rights for verified retirees of Treasury-funded MDAs,” the pension regulator mentioned.

PenCom additionally famous that the accrued rights of some deceased staff have been coated, with funds already credited to the retirement financial savings accounts of their beneficiaries by way of pension fund directors.

The PidomNigeria beforehand reported that the backlogs of pensions owed by the federal and state governments have risen to over N193bn.