PTAD Enrols 24,000 NewlyVerified Pensioners for Payment

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) said it has in the past 10 months enrolled 24,000 newly verified pensioners into its pay roll.

PTAD’s Executive Secretary, Sharon Ikeazor, said this while speaking at the South-west stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos recently.

He said these pensioners emerged after the completion of the Civil Service verification exercise which brought in over 19,000 new pensioners, who had hitherto been denied their rights to pension under the Defined Benefit Scheme.

She said in addition to this, the directorate had also successfully verified, computed and put on payroll nearly 5,000 pensioners of defunct/ privatised agencies such as Delta Steel Company (DSC), Aladja, Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria (FHA), Nigeria Reinsurance, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) .

Ikeazor, also disclosed that pensioners of NICON insurance would commence receiving monthly pension this month, adding that work on the enrolment of NITEL pensioners had reached advanced stages.

“This singular achievement has lifted many families out of miseries that lasted for up to 13 years in some instances. The verification of other agencies under same category will be done alongside that of other parastatals beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018,” she stated.

Ikeazor, however said in line with achieving its objective of ensuring regular payment of monthly entitlements to pensioners under the Defined Benefit scheme, PTAD met some drawbacks such as lack of adequate resources to settle the legacy liabilities inherited from the old order as well as to meet its capital expenditure.

PTAD, she also said is faced with the reocurring problem of presentation of enrolment of orders granted by customary courts in lieu of letters of administration.

According to her, this constitutes a draw back because under the extant laws, these documents can’t be substituted.

“Enrolment orders and similar documents issued by customary courts and such other courts of coordinate jurisdictions are not acceptable by the directorate for the payment of death benefits to next of kin,” she said.

Unfortunately, this practice is prevalent and has caused unnecessary delay in computing and payment of benefits to next of kins.