The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pension payment

  • PTAD, others collaborate on pension payment

    There is a strong collaboration between the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), the Parastatals Pension Department, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget Office of the federation, Auditor General of the Federation, the Accountant General of the Federation and  the National Assembly, the Deputy Director, Parastatals Pension Department, Kabiru Yusuf, has said.

    He spoke during the ongoing verification of all pensioners of treasury funded parastatals, agencies and institutions under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), organised by PTAD in Lagos.

    Yusuf, who was at the Ikeja Centre to monitor the process, stated that the strong collaboration has made it possible for PTAD to get appropriate funding towards continuous and consistent payment of monthly pension.

    He stated that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has consistently ensured that monthly pension is paid as and when due.

    He expressed excitement that the current administration has made regular payments of pension arrears and paid police officers that were granted pardon by virtue of the Biafra war, among others.

    He said: “The directorate has so far verified about 6000 pensioners since the exercise begun on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, and the exercise runs till May 9, and I am assured that everyone that presents him or herself will be verified’’.

    He added: “From the inception of the administration of President Buhari, there has not been one month of pension that has not been paid. It has always been paid on a regular and consistent basis. In addition, he has made regular payments of 33 months’ pension arrears. Also they have made payment to police officers that were granted pardon by virtue of the Biafran war. This was done close to 17 years after the presidential pardon was given to them.

    “Agencies that were privatised by BPE, close to 30,000 of them of all the seven agencies that have not received any pension as at the last 12 years have been brought under the payroll. This is a reflection of the strong coordination that happened between our office, the ministry of finance, budget office, auditor general, accountant general as well as the national assembly”.

    He also said that the auditor who visited the Ikeja Centre on Monday showed satisfaction of the process adopted by PTAD for the verification.

    “The Auditor-General was impressed with the elaborate process we put in place which include provision for internal audit and federal audit check. He recommended the same system to any form of agency that want to do any form of verification.

    “He also assured PTAD of his 100 per cent support at any point in time. He said any system that does not guarantee transparency and accountability cannot ensure good governance but the system that we have put in place ensures good governance and he is delighted”, he added.

  • PTAD explains delay in pension payment

    Delays in pension payments are due to technical hitches, scheduling of payments in the Office of the Accountant General and delay of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs Sharon Ikeazor has said.

    The Executive Secretary in a statement issued by the Directorate on the ongoing verification exercise billed to end next week, stated that all pensioners that have been verified and certified okay will receive their pension.

    She said that she raised the issue with the accountant general to ensure pensioners are given priority when funds are available.

    She stressed that they are always improving their service to pensioners and would continue to serve them well.

    She said: “Due to complaints about late payments, we seek to explain our payment process to all pensioners. Payrolls are prepared and sent to the Executive Secretary on or before 15th of every month for approval.

    “After approval, payroll is uploaded unto GIFMIS (payment platform managed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation) subject to release of funds. Payments are finalised on the GIFMIS platform subject to cash backing from the CBN after which the CBN releases payments entitlements directly into pensioners account.”

    Ikeazor warned pensioners to beware of pension fraudsters, noting that PTAD will never request for cash to process their pension.

    The general public is warned not to be misled by the fraudulent activities of pension scammers who call pensioners to request for processing fees, and or cash to fast track their complaints for payment of outstanding entitlements, she added.

  • PTAD verifies ex-NITEL, MTEL workers for pension payment

    Embattled retirees of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (M-Tel), will soon receive their pension  entitlement.

    This is coming on the heels of the commencement of verification of thousands of the retirees across the country.

    The ex-workers have been in a battle with the Federal Government, following NITEL and MTEL’s privatisation in 2007 and a five- year pension buy-out policy placed on the ex-workers which they kicked against.

    The Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs Sharon Ikeazor,  said the exercise which is the first phase, will hold simultaneously in Lagos, Enugu and Port Harcourt for 12 days.

    Mrs. Ikeazor, represented by the Directorate’s Assistant Director Pension Admin, Jubril Idris stated that the federal government has made provision to pay the pensioners in the 2018 budget.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Lagos committed to pension payment’

    The  Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) is committed to effective pension administration,Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He spoke at opening of the workshop tagged: ‘The role of LASPEC in the administration of the Lagos State Contributory Pension Scheme Law’ organised by the agency for its officers.

    The governor, represented by the Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson, pledged the prompt payment of the state’s retirees and pensioners.

    He said the LASPEC was empowered to ensure the smooth administration of pensions  under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    He stressed that LASPEC was established by the  state’s CPS Law of 2007 to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters in the public service in accordance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    He noted that before the law came into being, the Federal and state governments, under the old dispensation, operated the Defined Benefits (DB) Pension Scheme, popularly referred to as the ‘Pay as You Go’(PAYG) scheme.

    He said: “Under this scheme, pension benefits were defined using the vesting scale which relied on the length of service and final emoluments of an employee. The benefits were thus easily calculated by employees. Employees, who had spent five to nine years in service were entitled to a lump sum payment referred to as gratuity, while those who had spent ten years and more were entitled to both the gratuity and monthly pension payment.

    “As with the Federal scheme, the state schemes were also fraught with problems such as lack of adequate funding, irregular pension payments and the rigorous exercise of verification of pensioners. In line with modern global changes, the Federal Government on June 27, 2004 changed from the Defined Benefit scheme to the CPS with the signing into law of the Pension Reform Act 2004, which set up the National Pension Commission (Pencom) to regulate and supervise the scheme and register the operators of the scheme.

    “The government, against the background of challenges with the Defined Benefit scheme, also adopted the new scheme and became the first State in Nigeria to commence the CPS with the signing into law on19th March 2007 of the Lagos State Pension Reform Law 2007 and eventual commencement in July 2009.”

    He said that since then, LASPEC has assisted all persons in the employment of the State Government to save towards their retirement,  ensured that persons who leave or retire from the Public Service of the State receive their terminal or retirement benefits as and when due.

    “LASPEC has also establish a set of rules and regulations for the administration and payment of retirement benefits in the Public Service of the State, established the group life policy for death benefits of employees, whilst in service, as well as the Retirement Bond for employees with past service benefits and the Redemption Fund from which the liability of the bond payment would be made.

    “The Vision of LASPEC is to provide first-class regulatory and supervisory services on pension matters to all stakeholders in the Lagos state public service while the mission is to provide exceptional services on pension matters to employees in the Lagos State Public Service.”

    Benson further said that it is based on this that the Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pensions has consistently trained LASPEC officers on the extent of the statutory powers of LASPEC, the internal organisation of LASPEC, the issued-guidelines for the execution of the mandate of LASPEC, and the overview of the identity and nature of the stakeholders in the administration of the pension law.

     

  • Kwara explains delay of February pension payment

    The Kwara Government on Thursday said late receipt of elements of federal allocation was responsible for the delay in payment of pension in February.

    The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Ademola Banu, gave the reason in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.

    He explained that FAAC elements such as statutory allocation, Value Added Tax (VAT) and exchange gain difference had, however, been received.

    Banu said the state government still awaited the receipt of excess Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), which stood at N332.05 million.

    He, however, disclosed that the pensioners and staff of ministries, departments and agencies had started receiving their payment on Wednesday.

    The commissioner further noted that due to the financial arrangements of the Federal Government, elements of monthly allocations were received at separate intervals.

    According to him, the installment receipt is sometimes responsible for the delay in payment of salaries, pensions, overhead and subventions to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.

    He commended the retirees and affected workers for their patience and assured that the government would always strive to ensure prompt payment of monthly entitlements.