Category: Pension

Our Reporter

The expectation of the average worker is to retire peacefully and enjoy the fruits of working with youthful energy. Investigation by The Nation has shown that many of states are not complying with the Pension Act.

At the last count, only Edo, Kaduna, Lagos states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are the best states to retire in Nigeria, according to a report on state compliance by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Thus, the retirees in these places will have no problem receiving their pension benefits to take care of themselves in their old age.

Section 1.3.2 Section 2 (1) of the Pension Reform Act 2004 (PRA), 2014 provides that Contribution Pension Scheme (CPS) should apply to any employee in the public service of the federation, the public service of the FCT, the public service of the state government, the public service of the local government councils and the private sector.

The FCT is the most excellent and compliant state as it has a regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions for employees of the FCTA and Area Councils/Local Educational Agencies (LEAs).

The state is also funding accrued pension rights and carrying out regular funding of accrued rights for FCTA and FCT Area Council. Most importantly, it has a valid Group Insurance cover for its workers.

Kaduna also has regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions, is funding accrued pension rights consistently with five per cent of total monthly wage bill and has valid Group Life Insurance cover for its workers.

Edo has regular and up to date remittance of pension contributions.

The state is, however, not funding accrued rights and does not have Group Life insurance for its workers.

Similarly, Lagos has regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions, funding the accrued rights of employees domiciled in an undisclosed commercial bank but has no valid Group Life insurance policy in place.

In recognition of the significance of pension  to workers in states, PenCom has always advised state governments to key into the CPS.

Read Also: Fayemi disburses N584m gratuities, loans to Ekiti workers, pensioners

PenCom Acting Director-General, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar said at the Second Quarter Consultative Forum for States in Lagos that while states were at liberty to come up with their pension laws, the Commission is concerned that despite the collaboration, several provisions of the pension laws were not implemented by some states.

She urged states to note that the hopes of prospective retirees in states were hinged on the successful implementation of the CPS, which was instituted in response to the failure of the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

A senior pension official of the Kaduna State Pension Bureau, Dan Ndackson, said the Bureau started biometric data capture of retirees using its information technology (IT) infrastructure and personnel from November 2016.

“With this initiative, the waiting time for retirees to be included in the pension payroll has reduced drastically to a maximum of one month after audit clearance, thereby saving the retiree the pains of staying longer after retirement without income.

“The application deployed for this data capture is robust enough to permit diverse queries and reports to be generated from the database,” Ndackson said.

Lagos scored another plus in pension scheme administration recently when it began issuing Smart Identification Cards to retirees.

The Lagos Pension Commission (LASPEC), Director-General,  Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, assured the retirees of the government’s interest in the welfare of retirees.

Read Also: Fayemi disburses N584m gratuities, loans to Ekiti workers, pensioners

She said the state wants a better life for retirees and hence had ensured the automation of the LASPEC to enhance service delivery to the workers.

She said: “The issuance of the Identification Cards is geared towards improving the longevity risk faced by the retirees as they advance in age.   The Identification Cards which will be issued to all retirees in Lagos State Public Service including parastatals of government and Local Government Councils will reflect details of the pension plan by each retiree and who the provider of pension benefits was.  The Smart Card is also designed to give the Commission an electronic monitoring of the activities of the pension providers.

‘’If a retiree’s pension is paid either through the programmed Withdrawal option offered by Pension Fund Administrators or through Annuity for life offered by Llife assurance companies, we will from the confines of our office, using their Identification Number, be able to monitor whether the pension providers are living up to expectation.  We remain committed to their welfare and will keep on developing a robust pension structure in Lagos State Public Service,” she added.

Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki said the migration of public servants to the CPS would forestall the accumulation of pension debts by the government.

 

Our Reporter

 

Ideho: Ideho, who died in a road accident on August 19, 2011, worked at NDLEA, Nassarawa. Her PFA is Stanbic IBTC Pension. Her next-of-kins are Segun Ideho, Roland Ideho; and Mrs Funmilayo Ideho. Please help us so that her benefits can be paid.

Stanbic IBTC Pension: In line with the process for the regulations for the administration of terminal benefits issued by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), one of the prerequisites for accessing the pension benefits of deceased public sector employees is the remittance of their accrued rights/pension benefits and/or the reconciliation of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA).

This is facilitated through the submission of a Death Notification application to PenCom. The beneficiaries of the deceased client had submitted a death notification application for the deceased client’s RSA and this was forwarded to PenCom on March 10, 2016. Please be informed that the RSA has been reconciled by PenCom and the beneficiaries can now visit our pension branches to apply for the deceased’s pension benefits. Attached is a checklist of required documentation to be submitted. We tried calling the numbers of the NoKs to advise them accordingly.

MRS OMOGBOYE:  My late husband, Sergent Omogboye, died on February 26, 2004. His Next-of-kin are his three children and I. Gratuity received is N239,000; Pension for one of the children N276,000; another N314,000; Monthly payment of pension is N2,880.80. The pension was paid to only two children; the others have not received any money. Where should I take them to? I want to put them in school. They said the pension would be paid to each child since the day their father died yet nothing has been paid.

Read Also: PTAD warns pensioners against scammers

PTAD: The late Sgt. Omogboye  NoK(Wife)- and three others. The operational department (Police Pension Department) has advised  as follows: 1. All Noks should provide their Bank Statement from the date the account was opened to date.  2. All Noks should provide their BVN slip 3. Noks should provide their birth certificates and the verification slips of each.

DSP Atakah (Rtd): Following my complaints on my unpaid pension arrears and the directive given by PTAD through this newspaper, I sent my complaint to the Executive Secretary, PTAD on August 114, 2019 via email. On September 18, 2019, I got a phone call from PTAD that I should send (1) Attestation Form (2) Pension Advice (3) Statement of Account to Lawal of Police Section in PTAD. But I recall that I have sent all these except attestation form. Let me state it that others were paid without it. We did not use attestation before we were paid our gratuity in the old police pension before our merger with PTAD. My hope lies in you. Thanks for your efforts toward my problem. God bless you.

PTAD: We have called the pensioner on the case of his unpaid pension arrears between 2001 and 2017 and advised him not to attend any verification again because he has been verified. The pensioner will need to submit his Bank Statement (from 2001 to date) as the Bank Statement submitted during verification is insufficient. If eligible, PTAD will ensure he receives his arrears as funds are allocated and released for the purpose by the Federal Government.

MRS ONIYE: My name is Mrs. Oniye. I thank the newspaper for the  Pension Column, which is used to fight for the cause of pensioners.

I retired from Federal Government College, Idoani in April 1999, as Grade Two typist, Grade Level 5 Step 10. My gratuity was paid on June 7, 2007. I have not received any monthly pension.  The newspaper should see to my problem by helping me to contact the PTAD on the non-payment of my monthly pension since 1999.

PTAD:  We were initially unable to reach the pensioner owing to the wrong telephone number provided. A data search on PTAD Core provided the correct telephone number. We contacted and advised her to scan and send a clear copy of her pensioner’s verification slip to our e-mail (complaints@ptad.gov.ng) to enable us resolve her complaint. The pensioner was verified last September.

For contributors of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the future looks bright as they have earned
a N2.17 trillion profit from their investments, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports.

 

Better days are here for Nigeria’s 8.79 million pension fund contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as they earn a whopping N2.17 trillion profit in 15 years as return on investment.

The fund, which has been soaring from savings of contributors, hit N9.44 trillion in August, this year. The contributors, also referred to as Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) holders, on their part, had saved N7.27 trillion as at August.

The CPS is a mandatory scheme that has compelled employees and employers in the public and private sectors to save a minimum of 18 per cent of an employee’s monthly emolument into the employee RSA, from where employees will be paid retirement benefits.

According to experts, this has increased national savings with the Pension Fund Assets under the CPS to N9.44 trillion as at August.

A contributor, Collins Okafor, said he was excited with the development.

He said each time he checked  his RSA balance,  there was an increase.

He said although his employer does not remit his pension promptly, his pension account balance has always increased.

He urged the regulatory authority to prevail on his employer to remit his contribution for him to benefit from investment by his Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).

Stella Adebayo said she wanted to save more money from her salary in her pension account by participating in the Voluntary Contribution (VC) under the CPS.

She expressed sadness that she had been unable to do so because the law mandates only her employer to do so for  her but she could not give her employer who has not been remitting her pension regularly into her pension account the go-ahead.

Another contributor, Kayode Ogunsakin, said he lost his job and received 25 per cent out-of-job payment from his PFA in 2015. But, surprisingly, his balance had increased by 25 per cent.

He urged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to ensure that no ill befalls the  fund, adding that it is one of the best things that has happened to the country

A pension expert, Ivor Takor, said investment of pension fund in federal and state governments’ securities, has assisted  the governments to  manage their debts cost-effectively, thereby contributing in solving their financial needs and contributing to the stability in the debt market.

Takor, who is also the Managing Director, First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), stated that pension fund has come in as an independent financial intermediary, as the nation’s private business enterprises no longer rely on banks as the sole source of external capital for  business financing.

The fund, according to him, is getting into real estate, infrastructure and mutual fund.

He said: “The fund, therefore, provides a domestic source of borrowing, which doesn’t attract excessive high interest rate. The transfer of resources in favour of long term assets by the fund has significantly impacted on the nation’s GDP growth rate.

“The growing size of pension assets is impacting on the financial landscape, with a growing role of institutional investors (PFAs and Life Insurance companies). This is indicative that the Scheme is impacting positively on the economic growth of the nation.

“Pension fund has also impacted positively on other sub-sectors of the financial sector of the economy. As the fund presses for improvements in the architecture of allocative mechanisms, including investment, risk management, better accounting, auditing, brokerage and information disclosure; insurance supervision and management for Group Life Insurance and annuity, new securities and rating agencies have developed. The fund has developed equity market, which has shown to enhance the overall economic development.

“The Scheme has grown significantly in the past 14 years and is providing painless access to retirement income to members of the scheme as against the unsustainable pay-as-you-go defined benefits scheme. This is leading to substantial well-being of retired members of the scheme.”

ODUSHOLU: My name is Odusholu. I retired from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Lagos on Level 06 in 1977. Uptill now, my pension is N8,115.67. The national minimum wage had been increased three times since I retired, the last was N18,000 before the new minimum wage of N30,000. Kindly help me through PTAD to correct the mistakes.

PTAD: The pensioner did not provide an account number. We called the pensioner several times, but there was no response. The pensioner is advised to send his complaint, name and bank account details to complaints@ptad.gov.ng

ZINGBONG:  My name is Zingbong and I am from Plateau State. I have yet to be paid my pension arrears from 2001 to 2015. I am a federal pensioner with state share.  I worked at Ministry of Housing on Grade Level 07. My date of first appointment is April 1, 1969, date of confirmation April 1, 1982, date of last promotion, April 1, 1982, and date of retirement January 5, 2001. Kindly help me.

PTAD: The pensioner should send his bank statement from 2001 to date along with a photocopy of his verification slip to PTAD Office located at 22 Katsina Ala Street, off Yedseram Street, Maitama. Abuja

DSP ATAKAH (rtd): I retired from the Police. Through your advice, I sent my complaint to the Executive Secretary, PTAD on August 14, this year by email. I got a phone call from PTAD on September 18, with phone number 094621700. I was advised  to send: (1) attestation form (2) pension advice (3) statement of account to a staff member of the Police section in PTAD.

I sent all these except attestation form, which others were paid without it. We did not use attestation before we were paid our gratuity in the old police pension before our merger with PTAD. My hope lies on you. Thanks’ for your efforts toward resolving my problem.

PTAD: The pensioner was called from PTAD Call Centre for further investigation of his complaint. He confirmed that he had not yet submitted the additional documents requested by the operational department.

ZAKARI: Hello Omobola, my name is Zakari from Niger State. I am a Next- of-Kin and I was verified by PTAD on October 15, 2017. Since then, all my efforts to get paid had not yielded any results. Kindly help me.

PTAD: PTAD would ensure that the eligible Nok would receive the final entitlements of their deceased loved one as funds are allocated and released by the Federal Government.

MRS. WACHUKWU: My mother retired since October 2001. Her name is Wachukwu. She has not been paid her gratuity since then. She is a state pensioner with federal share. Please endeavor to help us to check what the problem is as we have made so many complaints. She retired as a Chief Nursing officer from Okpuala Ngwa General Hospital, Isiala Ngwa North. She retired at level 14 in October 2001.

PTAD: The Directorate makes sure eligible pensioners receive their gratuity as funds are allocated and released for the purpose by the Federal Government. PTAD as a wholly treasury funded agency is working with relevant agencies to ensure eligible pensioners get what is due them.

AJIBOLA: My name is Samuel O. Ajibola . Thanks to God for The Nation that is standing for the voiceless Nigerians. My pension number is 0115248. I was not paid my federal share for 13 months between May 2009 and May 2010, and I have since filled complaint forms several times as told. Up till now, I have not been paid. Kindly help me.

PTAD: The pensioner is advised to send his complaint and a scanned copy of his Verification Acknowledgement slip to: complaints@ptad.gov.ng. He should also submit his bank statement from January 2009 to date, if he has not done so.

 

Who is a Next-of-Kin (NoK)?

The Next-of-Kin (NoK) is the individual chosen by the principal to inherit his or her entitlement in the event of his/her death. The NoK could be the child, wife, brother, parent, friend or any relation of the deceased, selected by the deceased while he/she was alive.

If there are more than one NoK, do they need to be present for verification?

Yes. You all need to be present as NoKs. Verification can only be successful and recognised when all NoKs are present in compliance to the will of the deceased pensioner.

• What are the documents needed for NoK verification?

Depending on the department, documents required for verification of NoKs varies. Here is the list of documents required: Death Certificate from the National Commission or a government hospital; Birth Certificate of NoK; Letter of Introduction from MDA(Death in active service); Record of Service; Letter of Administration from a High Court; Marriage Certificate (for  spouses); Joint Account of NoKs(Duly Stamped/Signed); Passport Photograph of NoKs; Valid Identification for NoK(s)  (Driving License, Int’l Passport, National ID Card or Voters Registration Card); Deceased Officer letter of last promotion; Letter/Gazette of 1st appointment of the Deceased Officer; Approved Letter of Retirement/Disengagement.; Evidence of change of name (Where applicable); and Evidence of Transfer of Service (where applicable).

 

4. Can a sick or bedridden pensioner be verified?

 

Yes. PTAD undertakes mobile verification to homes and hospitals to verify sick and bedridden pensioners who are unable to physically come to our verification centres. To qualify for mobile verification, pensioners should send proof of incapacity either through a medical report from a recognized government hospital or a picture showing the state of condition of the pensioner. The following categories of pensioners qualify for mobile verification; Terminally ill Pensioners; Very Old and weak Pensioners, and Infirmed Pensioners

 

5. When is the next phase of verification?

 

PTAD has concluded verification for Civil Service, Police, Customs, Immigration and Prison Pensioners while verification of pensioners under treasury funded Parastatals has taken off with the verification of pensioners of defunct agencies across the country.

 

 

Thirty-one states are yet to get their acts together by complying with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), thereby putting the future of the workers of these states in disarray, writes Omobola Tolu-Kusimo.

The pension administration of 31 states out of the 36 states of the federation is poor and in disarray, according to a report on state compliance with Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014, by the second quarter (Q2) of the year.

The Act established the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Of the 31 states with pension challenges, five states, including Rivers, Niger, Ogun, and Yobe, have the most complicated pension problems.

The other states are Abia, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

These states are riddled with pension challenges arising from maladministration of government for many years, leaving retirees and workers troubled.

The 25 states are deducting eight per cent pension contribution from their employee’s salary as mandated by the Act, but are not remitting same to their pension accounts.

While these states have not been remitting pension contributions, they are also not funding accrued rights that will enable their workers to draw pension after retirement. They did not provide Group Life Insurance cover as mandated by the PRA 2014 either.

The implication of this is that retirees of these states will most likely not have pension benefits to fall back on after retirement.

However, four states including Lagos, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Edo, and Kaduna have made tremendous progress in pension administration. These states can be ranked as excellent in pension addiministration.

These states’ retirees will have no problem receiving their pension benefits when they retire.

A breakdown of the report showed that FCT is the most compliant as it has a regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions for employees of the FCT and Area Councils.

The FCT is also funding accrued pension rights and  carrying out regular funding of accrued rights for FCT and FCT Area Council. To crown this sterling performance, it has a valid Group Insurance cover for its workers.

Kaduna also has regular and up- to-date remittance of pension contributions, is funding accrued pension rights consistently with five per cent of total monthly wage bill and has valid Group Life Insurance cover for its workers.

Edo, on the other hand, has regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions.

The state is, however, not funding accrued rights and does not have group life insurance for its workers.

Similarly, Lagos has regular and up-to-date remittance of pension contributions; funding the accrued rights of employees domiciled in an undisclosed commercial bank but has no valid Group Life Insurance policy in place.

Similarly, states where performance can be ranked as good include Anambra,  Delta, Ekiti, Jigawa and Kano.

In the case of Anambra, the state has remitted the employer and employee pension contributions for local government employees up to June, last year. The state employees had their employer portion of pension contribution remitted up to December 2016 and employee portion up to May this year. The state is funding accrued pension rights for only LG employees and does not have a valid Group Life Insurance for its employees.

Delta has regular and complete remittance of pension contributions for state employees. The employer contributions for LG employees are outstanding between May 2016 and September, last year, while October last year to last January were remitted. The employee portion of the pension contributions were remitted up to date for the LG employees.

The state funded accrued pension rights of both LG and state but with huge arrears of accrued pension liabilities and does not have group life insurance for its employees.

 

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has concluded verification for 11,335 parastatal pensioners in the Northwest, its Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma N. Ejikeme has said.

A statement explained that the exercise, which held for two weeks began on Monday, September 23, this year and was concluded on Friday, October 4.

She said there were four centres  in Arewa House and Dakhole Angels Multipurpose Centre Kaduna, Marhaba Event Place, Kano, and Hidima Conference Centre, Bodinga Road, Sokoto.

Giving a breakdown of the 11,335 parastatal pensioners that were verified, she said Kaduna Centre 1 had the highest number of 4,073, followed by Kaduna Centre 2 with 3, 170 pensioners.  Kano Centre had 2,739 and Sokoto Centre had 1,353.

She said: “In line with PTAD’s tradition, the pensioners were treated with respect and empathy. The exercise was conducted in a conducive environment where pensioners were also provided with lunch and medical facility to take care of any emergencies.

“National Assembly members were at the verification centres to monitor the exercise. The Senate Committee Chairman on Establishment and Public Service, Sen. Ibrahim Shekarau was at Kano centre. Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, House Committee Chairman on Pensions was at the Kano and Kaduna Centres. Sen. Mpigi Barinada, Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service was at the Kaduna Centre.

‘’Hon. Bamidele Salam, Deputy Chairman, House committee on Pensions, was at the Sokoto Centre. They gave PTAD excellent remarks and promised to support the Directorate with necessary appropriation.”

She promised to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the welfare of pensioners and assured that the upcoming verification exercise in the Northcentral will include all the feedback received during the Northwest verification exercise.

“The next phase of the verification exercise is scheduled for Ilorin, Minna, Jos and Lokoja in the Northcentral zone from Monday, October 21. Pensioners should note that they need not travel to the state they retired from to be verified. They can be verified in any of the centres in the zone where they reside.

“They do not need to be anxious about being verified as the Directorate has the capacity to verify all pensioners who present themselves for the verification within the period slated for the exercise. The on-going exercise is strictly for parastatal pensioners and does not include Customs, Immigration, Prisons, Civil Service, Police pensioner and others that had already been verified by PTAD,” she added.

 

ODUSHOLU: My name is Odusholu. I  retired from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Lagos on level 06 in 1977. Up till now, my pension is N8115 .67.

The national minimum wage had been increased three times after I retired, the last was N18,000 and the new minimum wage is N30,000. Kindly help me through PTAD to correct the mistakes.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

ZINGBONG:  My name is Zingbong and I am from Plateau State. I have yet to be paid my pension arrears from 2001 to 2015. I am a federal pensioner with state share. I worked at the Ministry of Housing and retired on Grade Level 07 Step. My date of first appointment is  April 1, 1969, date of confirmation April 1, 1982, date of last promotion, April 1, 1982, while date of retirement January 5, 2001. Help me please.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

DSP ATAKAH (RTD): I retired from the Nigeria Police Force. Through your advice, I sent my complaint to the Executive Secretary PTAD on August 14, 2019 by email.

I got a phone call from PTAD on September18, 2019, with phone number 094621700. I should send (1) attestation form (2) pension advice (3) statement of account to a staff of police section in PTAD.

It will be recalled that I sent all these except attestation form, but others were paid without it. I ddi not send it because we did not use attestation before we were paid our gratuity in the old police pension before our merger with PTAD. My hope lies on you. Thanks for your efforts toward my problem.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Please watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

ZAKARI: Hello, Omobola. My name is Zakari from Niger State. I am a Next-of-Kin and I was verified by PTAD on October 15, 2017. Since then, my efforts to get paid had not yield any results. Kindly, help me.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

MRS. WACHUKWU: My mother Mrs Wachukwu retired as a Chief Nursing Officer (level 14) from Okpuala Ngwa General Hospital, Isiala Ngwa North in October 2001. But she has not been paid her gratuity since then. She is under state pensioner with federal share. Please find out what the problem is as we have made so many complaints.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

AJIBOLA: My name is Samuel O. Ajibola. Thanks to God for The Nation that is standing for the voiceless Nigerians. My pension number is 0115248. I was not paid my federal share for 13 months(May 2009 and May 2010),  although I have filled complaint forms several times as directed.

Yet, up till now, I have not been paid. Please help me.

THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

ADETUTU:  My mother retired in 2005 as a principal catering assistant ll Grade level 10 step 2. Her name is Adetutu. The problem is that she was given monthly pension from 2005 till August 2010. Since then, some people have been calling her from Head of Civil Service Commission demanding bribe before they could pay her but she ignored them. In February 2018, they called her back again, saying President Muhammadu Buhari had directed her payment. She was swindled N240, 000  paying into various account numbers. Please, I will appreciate if you can assist her. She is 74

 

PTAD: We will never request for cash to process pension. Pensioners are advised to be wary of fraudsters as pension payment is free. We require the pensioner’s telephone number to enable us get additional information.

 

JOHNSON: My complaints is non-payment of pension salary from August 2008. My name is Johnson. I wish to complain that my pension salary since August, 2008 is yet to be paid till date. I call on the Executive Secretary of PTAD to kindly check their records and make the said amount payable to alleviate my financial burden. Thanks and be blessed.

 

PTAD: The pensioner is currently receiving monthly pension payment and is owed pension arrears. PTAD ensures pension arrears are cleared as funds are allocated and released by the Federal Government.

 

SANMI:  I retired as an Assistant Director of Education (GL 15) in December 1996, after serving the government for 35 years. My gratuities were paid in 1998 when the value of the money had fallen more than 100 per cent. I started drawing my pensions in year 2000. I am a purely federal pensioner, with no state share at all. Till date, I have not been allowed to enjoy any of the pension increases approved since year 2000. In April 2009, my pensions were harmonised to enable me enjoy the 142 per cent increment approved in year 2000. The voucher was prepared. This included the arrears accruing from year 2000. That month, I was paid only the harmonised monthly amount. The arrears were not paid and have still not been paid till now. Later this harmonised amount was reduced by 50 per cent for no reason. Despite series of verification and completion of complaints forms, no action has been taken on my case. rvice at the age of 56 years. I am now 76 years old and I have not taken   my entitlements. This complaint and relevant documents including my Bank statement of accounts are in my records with PTAD. I thank The Nation for its interest in the welfare of the elderly. Pensioners name: E. F. O.

 

PTAD: We require additional information to enable us investigate and resolve the pensioner’s complaint. Mr Owoeye should please send the pensioner’s name and telephone number to complaints@ptad.gov.ng to enable us speak to him.