PTAD’s Pension Reform Targets Guaranteeing Well-being Of Retirees, Ikeazor

 PTAD Executive Secretary, Sharon Ikeazor

By CLEMENT NWOJI,  Abuja

The Pensions Transitional Arrangement Directorate  (PTAD), has explained that its commitment to reforms of the pensions administration under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) constitute the Directorate’s effort towards quaranteeing good quality life of retires  and ensuring corrupt free society.

Hence, PTAD said that to actualise these, the verification exercise for ascertaining genuine pensioners and the ongoing stakeholders forum at the six geopolitical zones of the country is meant to get first hand views on the needs of the pensioners which Directorate utilise in proffering solutions aimed at making the pensioners comfortable.

This is even as the Directorate has paid pension, gratuity arrears to over 15,000 newly enrolled civil service pensioners, enrolled over 19,000 new pensioners and patrolled nearly 5000 pensioners of defunct/privatized agencies.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor, made these explanations while fielding questions from Journalists on one of the just concluded stakeholders  forum held in Lagos.

While aligning herself to President Muhammadu Buhari’s view that the level of dignity and honour given to retires has multiplier impact on how present and future public office holders would comport themselves while in office, Mrs Ikeazor said that ensuring the well-being of pensioners through effective and efficient pension system is major subtle way of preventing corruption, rather than punishment.

According to Mrs Ikeazor, ” I share in the President’s vision that the level of dignity and honour with which we treat the hundreds of thousands of men and women, who had given and sacrificed their lifetimes to the service of this great country, will impact directly on how present and future generations of government officials comport themselves in the course of public service.

“I cannot think of a better tool for uprooting the menace of corruption from our great society than through a guaranteed life of dignity in the aftermath of public service through an effective and efficient pension system.

 “I dare say that this subtle preventive measure is much more effective than the traditional option of deterrence.  On this day, and on this occasion, I rededicate myself towards continuing to transform PTAD into a strong institution that can stand for these ideals till the very end.”

She noted that the Directorate, with the unwavering support of the federal government, has recorded substantial achievements in its drive towards ameliorating the welfare of pensioners.

The Executive Secretary assured that prompt payment of pension to all genuine pensioners and the dateline of 15th day of every month for the completion of all departmental payrolls remain sacrosanct.

Other achievements she articulated are the completion of the Civil Service verification,  enrollment and the payment of monthly pension to them; Payment of pension and gratuity arrears to over 15,000 newly enrolled civil service pensioners; Payment of additional 33% arrears to pensioners of Police, Civil Service and Parastatals Pension Departments.

” With the last round of payments, the 33% liabilities for police pensioners have now been fully settled, joining Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department’s pensioners in this category.

“This exercise has brought in over 19,000 new pensioners, who had hitherto been denied their constitutional rights to pension, into the Defined Benefit Scheme. The Directorate has also successfully verified, computed and put on payroll nearly 5000 pensioners of defunct/privatized agencies such as Delta Steel Company (DSC), Aladja, Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria (FHA), Nigeria Reinsurance, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Civilians.

“Pensioners of NICON insurance will commence receiving monthly pension in September 2018, while work on the enrolment of NITEL pensioners has 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 said.

Further administrative achievements recorded include automation of the pension payment processes and the use of Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) under which pensioners receive their payments directly into their bank accounts from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) without any interface with the Directorate; digitalisation pensioners’ data, automation of computation of benefits, among others.