Fed Govt committed to payment of outstanding pensions, says PTAD

THE Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has assured Nigerian pensioners of government’s commitment to offsetting the balance of the 33 per cent pension increase.

It pledged to keep paying monthly pension of the senior citizens.

Reacting to an ultimatum by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners to picket the directorate and other government agencies responsible for the payment of pension, the management of PTAD said it was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that the arrears was paid.

PTAD said it has since cleared the outstanding 33% pension arrears for the Police Pension Department (PPD). It added that the only outstanding at the moment was 12 months of arrears for the civil service pensioners.

According to the PTAD, pensioners from the parastatals were owed various months.

The statement added that Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed was committed to ensuring that pension backlogs are cleared.

The minister, the statement noted, is working with PTAD and relevant government agencies to make sure that the backlog of outstanding pension arrears are cleared as soon as possible.

The statement reads: “The attention of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has been drawn to calls by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) and the Federal Universities Pensioners Association (FUPA) over the non-payment of the balance of the 12 and 36 months arrears respectively of the 33% pension increase to pensioners.

“For the record, the backlog of the 33% pension arrears has been owed since 2010 as a fall out of the upward review of the minimum wage to N18, 000.00. Though the increment had been approved, it was not implemented immediately thus creating accumulated arrears of 42 months.

“PTAD commenced payment of the 33% pension payment increase in October 2014 and ensured that all arrears for the year 2014 were paid in December 2014. In 2016, the backlog of the 33% pension arrears for the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department was fully paid.

“In the same year, 12 months’ pension arrears were paid to pensioners under Civil Service, Police, Parastatals Pension Departments. In November 2017, the Federal Government, through PTAD, further paid six months arrears across board to pensioners under Civil Service, Police and Parastatals Pension Departments.

“Please note that the Federal Government has regularly made monthly pension payments to all retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) on PTAD payroll.”