PTAD Pays N7.89bn to Beneficiaries

• PTAD Pays N7.89bn to Beneficiaries

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) said it recently paid a total of N7.89 billion as benefits to both pensioners and Next of kins of deceased pensioners.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor, in a statement to this effect said the sum of N6, 314,762,464.60 was paid to pensioners as six months arrears of the 33 per cent pension increment.

She said the payment covered 101,393 civil service pensioners on all grade levels and 76, 310 Parastatals pensioners across 186 agencies.

Ikeazor, noted that pensioners’ welfare was a priority for the present administration.

She said out of N7.89billion, the sum of N1,565,190,623.12 was paid to 500 Next of Kins of the deceased Nitel/Mtel pensioners under the defined benefits scheme. She said these were Next of Kins of deceased Nitel/Mtel pensioners who died after service and who have completed the process of documentation and have been cleared for payment by the federal auditors.

Ikeazor, also said the timely payment was achieved through diligent verification exercise conducted by the directorate to authenticate genuine Next-of-Kins before payment was made.

She assured those who were yet to be paid of the directorate’s commitment to see that all Next-of-Kins receive their entitlement.

PTAD, further said it had fully settled the inherited backlog of the 33% pension arrears of the Customs, Immigration and Prisons as well as Police pensioners in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

The Executive Secretary, assured pensioners that the Directorate is working with its supervisory Ministry of Finance as well as other relevant government agencies to clear the outstanding balance.