Key points
- PTAD says the Defined Benefit Scheme pension harmonisation will promote fairness among retirees.
- The exercise will recompute pensions using approved salary structures in place before the scheme closed.
- Reform aims to address longstanding disparities in pension payments.
- Eligible Federal Government pensioners and retirees from specified pension departments will benefit.
Main story
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) says the harmonisation of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) will promote equity among retirees, improve welfare and restore confidence in the administration of legacy pensions.
PTAD Executive Secretary, Mrs Tolulope Odunaiya, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.
Odunaiya described the harmonisation exercise as a landmark reform approved under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying it is one of the most significant policy interventions introduced since PTAD was established in 2013.
She explained that, unlike periodic pension increases, which raise existing benefits by a fixed percentage, pension harmonisation involves a comprehensive recomputation of pensions using the latest approved salary structures that were in effect before the closure of the Defined Benefit Scheme.
According to her, the objective is to ensure that retirees who held similar positions and served for comparable years receive equitable pension benefits regardless of when they retired.
“The objective is to ensure that retirees who held similar positions and served for comparable years receive equitable pension benefits irrespective of when they retired,” she said.
Odunaiya said the exercise was introduced to address longstanding disparities in pension computation that had generated complaints from pensioners over the years.
She said the programme would correct historical imbalances by restoring parity across the pension system.
According to the PTAD boss, the harmonisation exercise will determine pension benefits based on approved salary structures, rank, grade level and years of service rather than the date of retirement.
She said the reform is expected to advance social justice by correcting historical inequities that have disadvantaged thousands of retirees.
Odunaiya explained that the exercise applies mainly to pure Federal Government pensioners and eligible retirees under the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), the Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and the Treasury-Funded Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Pension Department (TEHPD).
She added that eligible retirees who served under the Federal Government before their agencies were transferred to state governments would also benefit from the harmonisation programme.
The issues
The Defined Benefit Scheme has long faced complaints over disparities in pension payments among retirees with similar ranks and years of service. The harmonisation exercise is intended to standardise pension computation and ensure greater fairness across the legacy pension system.
What’s being said
“The objective is to ensure that retirees who held similar positions and served for comparable years receive equitable pension benefits irrespective of when they retired.” — Tolulope Odunaiya, Executive Secretary, PTAD
What’s next
PTAD is expected to implement the harmonisation exercise for eligible retirees, with pension benefits to be recomputed based on approved salary structures and years of service.
Bottom line
The pension harmonisation initiative seeks to address longstanding inequities in Nigeria’s Defined Benefit Scheme by aligning pension payments more closely with retirees’ ranks and service records.
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