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Chuks Udo Okonta
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said it would take about 35 to 40 years before the last pensioner under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) passes on.
PTAD stated this in a document obtained by Inspenonline, adding that it is highly committed to the welfare of 229,326 pensioners on its payroll as at January 2022, that are presently being paid monthly pension benefits.
The Directorate maintained that its establishment was necessitated by the need to reform the old pension offices under the Defined benefit scheme, stressing that prior to its establishment, the old pension offices were bedeviled by a myriad of problems.
It noted that the pension offices were disparate. Poorly managed and grossly underfunded and there was no consolidated database of pensioners’ records, which led to reported instances of ghost beneficiaries as well as allegations of pervasive misappropriation of funds.
PTAD submitted that then, payrolls were prepared manually leading to delays in resolving numerous complaints from pensioners who were either not receiving their pension or were owed several months of pension arrears.
The Executive Secretary of the Directorate, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, at a training workshop for members of National Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) in Lagos, posited that over the years, PTAD has worked assiduously to change the narrative of pension administration in Nigeria, especially, under the Defined Benefits Scheme.
Dr. Ejikeme, who was represented at the event by the Director, Parastatals Pension Department, Kabiru Yusuf, noted that the directorate is proud to see that the hard work being carried out has yielded and has continued to yield positive results, stressing that pension management in Nigeria is a very sensitive issue and that PTAD has been at the forefront since the inception, ensuring that the welfare of pensioners under the defined benefit scheme remains a priority.
