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Tag: PTAD

  • PTAD verifies 92% Customs, Immigration pensioners’ data

    PTAD verifies 92% Customs, Immigration pensioners’ data

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has verified and captured over 92 per cent of the data and biometrics of Customs, immigration and prison pensioners, its Executive Secretary, Nellie Mayshack, has said.

    According to her, the verification took place in 13 centres across the country, including Rivers, Edo, Cross River, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, FCT, Kwara and Benue states.

    She said the turnout at all the centres was impressive and PTAD  verified and captured the data and biometrics of over 92 per cent of the expected pensioners. She said the sick and infirm Customs, immigrations and prisons pensioners were not left out as they contacted PTAD through their toll-free number and email.

    She noted that PTAD mobile verification teams went to the homes of pensioners who were unable to come to the designated centres for the exercise, adding that those who registered were visited and verified.

    Mayshack said the objective of the verification includes establishing a credible and authentic database of pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), eliminating ghost workers and duplicate payments, regularise anomalies such as over payments and under payments, as well as update the records of the Next of Kin (NOK).

  • Pension liabilities, others our major challenges, says PTAD

    THE Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) which manages pensions under the old pension scheme, the Defined Benefits Scheme, has highlighted huge pension liabilities, absence of credible database and resistance to change and entrenched interest as its major challenges.

    Its Director-General, Ms Nellie Mayshak, made this known at a sensitisation workshop on pension management under PTAD held in Lagos.

    She said the Directorate is also challenged by the lack of adequate awareness by some concerned stakeholders about PTAD and wrong impression and misperception of PTAD by some pensioners and critical stakeholders.

    According to her, the event is part of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, especially as it affects the need to pay close attention to pension administration and management as a panacea for timely and effective pension payment under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

    The target audiences of the workshop are pensioners, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners’ (NUP) representatives, sector unions’ representatives (pensioners) in parastatals, police, civil service and paramilitary (customs, immigration and prisons, Pension Board of Trustees (PBOTs), underwriters and brokers of PBOTs.

    She reiterated that PTAD’s mandate is to make budgetary estimates for existing pensioners and officers exempted from this scheme under Section 5 (1)(b) of the Act, prepare and submit the monthly payroll of pensioners to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for direct payment from the budgetary allocation maintained with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); issue payment instructions to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and to maintain a comprehensive database of pensioners under their respective jurisdictions.

    Others are to ascertain deficits in pension payments if any to existing pensioners or the categories of officers exempted under section 5 (1)(b) of the Act and carry out such other functions aimed at ensuring the welfare of pensioners and render monthly returns on pensioners, deceased pensioners, details of NOK of deceased pensioners and on any other issue as may be required from time to time

    Speaking on the organistion’s result, Meshack stated that a consolidation of the three pension offices; CSPD, PPD & CIPPD, and Pension Departments /Boards of Trustees of all federally funded parastatals has been achieved.

    She added that there has been improved monthly pension payments, mechanism for tracking failed payments to pensioners and restored payment of monthly pension to genuine pensioners removed from payroll

    She said: “We have successfully conducted a mini-verification of some categories of police and civil service pensioners and they have been placed on the payroll. We have establishment of a robust complaints resolution mechanism, improved services for pensioners and tackled reported fraud cases in collaboration with pensioners, unions and agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “We have also ensured minimal interference from other agencies, digitalised pension payments, improved understanding and collaboration with unions, banks and other partners, good relationship with all stakeholders and a befitting office space and home for pensioners.

    “Above all, a zero tolerance for corruption; there has not been a single incident of misappropriation of pension funds since PTAD and there will never be.”

    She listed part of the results to be achieved as the verification and biometric data capture exercise, establishment of a comprehensive, authentic and credible database of pensioners under the DBS which will ensure effective planning and management of pensions; elimination of ghost pensioners; elimination of duplication of payments.

    Others are to correct and eradicate anomalies such as over-payments and under-payments; pay pensions, gratuities, death benefits and other pensioner entitlements; update records of next of kin; enroll new pensioners; establish state offices and establish a PTAD call centre.

  • PTAD assures PHCN pensioners of end to delayed pension

    PTAD assures PHCN pensioners of end to delayed pension

    The Director-General,  Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Ms Nellie Meshack, has described the capturing of pension funds of electricity sector pensioners of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)  under capital budget as an aberration that should be corrected.

    The PTAD chief asured the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) members that she would probe the cause of the delays in their monthly pension payment.

    She was addressing the pensioners at the just concluded  workshop for treasury funded parastatals and their pensions’ Boards of Trustees in Abuja.

    The Federal Government had ordered the transfer of management of the PHCN pensioners from the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/Gte (NELMCO)  to the Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD) established under the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

    Ms Meshack said PTAD was working with NELMCO to engage the budget office to find out why the pensioners pension provision is captured under capitalisation as opposed to recurrency.

    She said: “I don’t know why your pension fund is put under capital. Now that you are coming under PTAD, we are going to find out.

    “The problem with the pension fund captured in capital budget is that in instead of monthly releases, they have to wait for quarterly release. Everything is released first before you ever get to capital.

    “For pension, that is a matter of life and death, it should and could not be put to quarterly releases. It is an aberration but what I am asking is that you let us go and engage with budget office to find out why it has been so.

    “The NELMCO MD will attest to the fact that we are planning to unravel this situation. Certainly, I do not want to manage pension that I will have to explain on a monthly basis why I have not paid.

    “If the money is not paid, there is nothing NELMCO or PTAD can do. For pensioners to be owed two or three months is going to be extremely difficult not just for the pensioners but for us at PTAD. But it is something to take up with the Budget Office,” she said.

    NUP Electricity Pension National President, Comrade Temple Ubani appealed to the  PTAD helmsman to ensure that the pensioners do not suffer again since they have been transferred to the department.

    He said noted that the government has adopted them following the privatisation of PHCN.

    He said they had just been paid four months’ pension arrears and are now another two months arrears.

    He said the Budget Office has been a major problem to release of their funds, urging the accountant-general to buckle up.

  • PTAD vows to resist interference in old pension administration

    PTAD vows to resist interference in old pension administration

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has vowed to resist interference from the individuals and organisations with opposed to change or that have vested interests.

    Speaking at a sensitisation workshop for Treasury Funded Parastatals and their Pension Boards of Trustees in Abuja yesterday, its Director-General, Mrs Nellie Mayshak said the Directorate has come to recognise that some people would be opposed to change and also have entrenched interests; these people, she said, were welcome to hold their views as long as they don’t interfere with PTAD.

    Specifically, she identified one of the challenges facing the directorate as “resistance to change/entrenched interes.”. Another challenge, according to Mrs Mayshak, is the absence of credible database on the parastatal pensions.

    She said she did not inherit any pensioners data when she assumed duties last year and as a result, the directorate would embark on a pensioners verification and biometric data gathering across the country before the end of the year.

    The Directorate, she said, would meet labour unions and others to work out  modalities for the exercise.

    The result of the Verification and Biometric Data Capture Exercise, Mrs Mayshak said, would include the establishment of a comprehensive, authentic and credible database of pensioners under the DBS, which would ensure effective planning and management of pensions; elimination of ghost pensioners; elimination of duplication of payments; correction and eradication of anomalies such as over payments and short payments; Pay pensions, gratuities, death benefits and other pensioner entitlements; Update records of next of kins; and Enrollment of new pensioners.

    Other challenges include lack of adequate awareness by some concerned stakeholders, e.g. Pension Board of Trustees (PBOTS), Pensioners and other critical stakeholders, Wrong impression/misperception of PTAD by some PBOTs Pensioners; huge pension liabilities; and mismanagement of pension funds by defunct PBOTs.

    The PTAD boss also admitted that the directorate was facing challenges with complaints from pensioners on the performance of Board of Trustees (BOTs) as well as trapped funds with underwriters

    Under her watch, Mrs Mayshak said “there has not been a single incident of misappropriation of pension funds since PTAD and there will never be” because the Directorate has Zero tolerance for corruption.

    In the last one year, PTAD has established a robust complaints resolution mechanism; improved services for Pensioners; improved understanding and collaboration with unions and partners; and creation of a befitting office space and home for pensioners.

  • Govt may appoint Nellie Mayshak PENCOM DG

    Govt may appoint Nellie Mayshak PENCOM DG

    BARRING any last minute changes, the Federal Government would send the name of Mrs. Nellie Mayshak to the Senate for confirmation as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM).

    The Nation gathered that President Goodluck Jonathan has okayed the appointment in the “absence of any strong objection”.

    It was learnt that the choice of Mrs. Mayshak was hinged on the fact that she has the requisite experience and exposure in the relevant field, and adjudged suitable to hold the office of director-general of PENCOM.

    In September, last year, Mayshak was appointed Director-General of the new Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD).

    The establishment of the new pension department was in line with Section 30, sub-section (2a) of the Amended Pension Reform Act, 2004, as the department would take over the management of the three offices handling the old pension scheme.

    These are the Civil Service Pension Department, the Police Pension Office and the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office.

    The DG of PTAD “is expected to spearhead the smooth transition of the three offices into one pension administration and management under the supervision of the National Pension Commission, which will report to the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance for coordination and control.”

    Before her appoitment, Mrs. Mayshak was the National Programme Manager of the Federal Public Administration Reform programme (FEPAR).

    In November, last yaer, President Jonathan forwarded the name of the Acting DG of PenCom, Mrs. ChineloAnohu-Amazu, to the Senate for confirmation as commissioner.

    In that letter, President Jonathan also nominated former Bauchi State governor AhmaduAdamuMu’azu as Chairman of the board along with three other full-time commissioners, namely Omotowa Reuben Gilbert, Mohammed Ka’oje Abubakar and Adesojo Olaoba-Efuntayo.

    The Pension Reform Act of 2004 stipulates: “The commission shall comprise a part-time chairman, a director-general, four full-time commissioners and seven part-time members. The appointments shall be made by the president subject to confirmation by the Senate.”

     

     

    In addition, the six geo-political zones of the country are to be represented on the board of PENCOM. The list of nominees did not include a representative from the South-South geo-political zones which Mrs. Nellie Mayshak might represent on the board.

     

    However, this board nominations for PENCOM was made almost a year after the expiration of the tenure of the former director general and other commissioners of PENCOM all of whom left in December 2012.

     

    The President’s letter to the Senate was silent on who would become the substantive director general, apparently because there is a bill before the National Assembly seeking to reduce the years of experience required to become DG.

     

    The existing pension law requires the director general of PENCOM to have 20 years’ experience, but the amendment bill wants to lower this to 15 years because there is no Nigerian with that number of years of experience in pension matters given the year Nigeria adopted the new pension plan.

     

    The President’s list of nominees also met with strong objections from the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) which said it was astonished and peeved by this move of the President, especially in the light of the fact that the nominated PENCOM board chairman and former Governor of Bauchi state is yet to be cleared by the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the corruption charges he is facing for allegedly defrauding the coffers of Bauchi State to the tune of N19.8billion when he was Governor of the State.