PTAD: Proffering Pension Solutions Via Stakeholders’ Engagement

Dr Chioma Ejikeme, PTAD Executive Secretary

The Pension Reform Act of 2014, mandates Pension Transitional Arraignment Directorate (PTAD) to administer the pensions of retirees of Federal Government Ministries, Departments & Agencies that did not transit to the Contributory Pension Scheme. This mandate essentially covers the retirees of Police, Customs, Immigration, Prisons (now Correctional Services), the Civil Service as well as Federal Government Parastatals and Research Institutes that were previously managed by Boards of Trustees and government appo.inted Insurance Underwriters.

In addition to the above, PTAD is also charged through the directives from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning of February 2017, to take over the management of pensions and severance benefit liabilities of ex-workers of NICON Insurance Limited, Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, Delta Steel Company Limited, New Nigeria Newspapers Limited, NITEL/MTEL, Savannah Sugar Company Limited, Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, Nigeria Aviation Handling Company, Nigeria Defence Academy (Civilian Staff) Nigeria National Shipping Line, Assurance Bank Nigeria Limited and Federal Housing Authority.

These were commercial parastatals of the Federal Government that were either privatized or liquidated under the Public Enterprises Privatization and Commercialization Reform of the Federal Government implemented by the Bureau for Public Enterprise between 1999 and 2005, and which resulted in the disengagement of existing workers of these Agencies. The disengaged workers were either paid five years lump sum pension or severance benefits as compensation as a result of their disengagement.

PTAD, In a bid to continue to carry out these statutory responsibilities aimed at ensuring the well being of the pensioners across the country through timely payments of pensions to pensioners has continued to engage pensioners and other stakeholders across the six geo-political zones of the country.

The stakeholders engagement forum, according to PTAD, “Is a way of bringing pension information to the door steps of the people. If you don’t come and meet With us, and tell us what your problems are, tell us what your issues are, we might be offering you chicken when what you want is water and that’s what we don’t want.

“We want to make sure that we are meeting you at your different point of need. We want to make sure we eliminate all the problems in the system. Yesterday some people came up with issues which we tried to response to and we have promised that today we are going to continue.”

The Executive Secretary PTAD), Dr. Chioma N. Ejikeme, speaking at the two days South East stakeholders forum which took place in Enugu recently, expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to provide Health Insurance to pensioners in the country.

The theme of the event was “pensioners welfare is our priority.”

According to her, the government, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health has established a ministerial committee to look into the issue of providing Health Insurance for senior citizens adding that PTAD and representatives of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners are members of this committee.

“We are in collaboration with some of our stakeholders including the National Health Insurance Scheme, the National Senior Citizens Centre, and Federal Ministry of Health, to see how making health insurance available to our pensioners can be a reality,” she said.

Explaining further, she said, despite the challenges posed to the country due to Coronavirus pandemic, PTAD has been up and doing to prioritise the welfare of the pensioners

Speaking on the achievements of the Directorate so far, PTAD boss said that it has used the repatriated proceed of 26 million pounds or N19.610 billion to settle some pension liabilities in the books of the Directorate.

Ejikeme said in 2021, the Directorate received the repatriated £26.5million from the United Kingdom, which was pension funds under investment with Crown Agents Investment Management Limited, United Kingdom, adding that the funds have been used to settle the liabilities of the defunct agencies,” she said.

She said the PTAD’s quest to recover pension assets with some insurance underwriters had been yielding some positive results, adding, “We have fully recovered the pension assets with two insurance underwriters.”

Similarly the PTAD boss disclosed that the Federal Government has set up a committee to look into the provision of health insurance for retired federal workers.

“The government, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health, has established a ministerial committee to look into the issue of providing health insurance for senior citizens.

“PTAD and representatives of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners are members of this committee. We are consequently in collaboration with some of our stakeholders, including the National Health Insurance Scheme, the National Senior Citizens Centre, and Federal Ministry of Health, to see how making health insurance available to our pensioners can be a reality,” she added.

She said PTAD formally launched the ‘I Am Alive’ confirmation platform, an online application to confirm that pensioners on its monthly pension payroll are alive and should continue to receive their pension.

On the effect of COVID-19 on the activities of the Directorate and what they have done to remain effective during the pandemic, Dr Ejikeme stated that In the past two years, the whole world has been thrown upside down by the Corona Virus pandemic which virtually grounded all activities all over the globe, and Nigeria was not an exception.

“Bearing in mind that the safety of our Pensioners is of utmost importance to us, we opened up more channels of communication and complaints resolution to enable us serve you better while the country battled to contain the Virus. We are not completely out of the woods yet, with the various variants springing up here and there, but the situation has greatly improved, especially with the Covid-19 Vaccine. I do hope that you all have availed yourselves of the opportunity of the free vaccination being offered by the Government.

“However, despite the lockdown, PTAD continued to pay monthly pensions promptly, resolve complaints, cleared arrears, paid death benefits to some Next-Of-Kin and one- off payments of some Defunct Agencies such as the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), as well as Ex- workers of Savannah Sugar Company who have submitted themselves for verification.

“On the 14th of December, 2021, PTAD completed the payment of all outstanding inherited liabilities due to Ex-workers of two of the Defunct Agencies; namely Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation (total 126 months of inherited liabilities completely liquidated). New Nigeria Newspaper Limited (total 219 months of inherited liabilities completely liquidated). We also settled a significant portion of the outstanding inherited liabilities due to Ex-workers of another three (3) Defunct Agencies:- NICON Insurance, Delta Steel Company Limited and NITEL/MTEL.

“Also in December 2021 we implemented the approved 9.7% Pension Increment for Pensioners of the Defunct PHCN. This Increment took effect from June 2016. The accrued arrears were paid along with the 6months balance of the arrears as a result of the consequential adjustment to pensions. The total amount paid to this sector was N6.9 billion

“In the year 2020, I declared a state of Emergency in the Civil Service Pensions Department and approved the commencement of an expanded re-validation and re- computation exercise in a bid to on-board verified Pensioners not on payroll, clear all outstanding pension arrears and resolve all complaints of short payments and outstanding gratuities for the Civil Service Pensioners and their Next of Kin (NoK). At the end of the project, the Directorate was able to review, compute, re-compute and pay over Seven Billion Naira (N7 billion) to over Twenty-Four Thousand (24,000) Pensioners. This computation exercise has been ongoing leading to the computation of a total of 25,950 files so far with total payment to date at N8.1 billion “

PTAD boss said the post verification validation for the Parastatal Pension Department is ongoing, adding that over 21,000 unverified Pensioners were dropped from the payroll in October 2020.

She said so far, 4,069 of the October dropped have been verified, restored to the payroll with the attendant arrears paid and that the on-boarding of verified and not on payroll Pensioners is ongoing even as she explained that so far 358 verified, not on payroll Parastatals Pensioners have been brought on board.

Some of the accrued and inherited arrears paid by the Directorate include
full payment for the 33% increment arrears owed Pensioners in the Parastatals Pension Department in December 2019.

PTAD also completely made a one-off payment to Six Hundred and Twenty (620) Ex-workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO). Added Ex-workers of Assurance Bank to the payroll and paid their arrears. Paid part of the arrears owed ex-workers of NITEL/MTEL and some Next-Of- Kin.

The Directorate has also completed the payment of arrears accrued as a result of the consequential adjustment to pension as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari to three out of the four operational departments.

On three months of arrears left for Civil service pensioners, Dr Ejikeme said, “the Directorate is working to clear that very soon.”

“In December 2021, PTAD completed the payment of all outstanding liabilities due to Ex-workers of two of the Defunct Agencies namely: Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation (total 126 inherited months completely liquidated) and New Nigeria Newspapers Limited (Total 219 inherited Months Completely liquidated).

“We also settled a significant portion of the outstanding liabilities due to the Ex- workers of another three Defunct Agencies: NICON Insurance Corporation, Delta Steel Company Limited and NITEL/MTEL.

“Implementation of 9.7% increment to EX-PHCN workers with attendant arrears paid. We have continued our meetings and engagement with the various Pension Unions such as the Association of Retired War Affected Police Officers (ARWAPO) which we held here in Enugu in 2021, the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners’ Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN), NITEL/MTEL Pensioners Association, NICON Insurance Pensioners Union, Civil Service Pension Unions, etc.

“We have also expanded the frontiers of our collaboration with stakeholders including the National Assembly, the newly established National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, The Military Pensions Board, PENCOM, our Regulators, and of course, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, our Supervisory Ministry,” PTAD boss explained.

She said all this is geared towards ensuring that the Directorate delivers optimal services to its esteemed Pensioners.

According to her, “Following the increment made to salaries of some Federal Government employees in 2019 as a result of the review of the National Minimum Wage, a committee was set up by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to review the pension and come up with an appropriate and realistic measure to increase the amount paid as pension to pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme.

“In May 2021, we got approval from Mr. President for the implementation of the upward review and we commenced payment immediately. We have successfully completed payment of the 24 months Arrears to the Parastatals Pension Department, The Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department and the Police Pension Department. The balance of 3 months arrears for the Civil Service Pension Department would be defrayed very soon.

“Bearing in mind that some of our Pensioners missed the field verification exercises previously conducted by PTAD across all operational Departments due to one reason or another, PTAD embarked on a Mop-up verification across the six geopolitical zones. We have gone to the South-South, where we had centres in Benin and Uyo, North- West in Kaduna and Sokoto, South-East in Enugu and Umuahia, North-East in Yola and Maiduguri, South-West in Ibadan and Akure, and Lagos State. We intend to visit other geopolitical zones in due course and ensure that all eligible Pensioners are duly captured and placed on our payroll.
I also wish to use this opportunity to inform you all that our quest to recover the pension assets with some Insurance Underwriters has been yielding some positive
results.

“We have fully recovered the pension assets with two insurance underwriters, namely: AIICO Insurance Plc, and African Alliance Insurance PLC.
The icing on the cake was the receipt of the repatriated sum of Twenty-Six Million, Five Hundred and Five thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty-two Pounds, Ninety-Seven Pence (£26,505,862.97) from the United Kingdom, which were pension funds under investment with Crown Agents Investment Management Limited, United Kingdom. The funds have been used to settle the liabilities of the Defunct Agencies I earlier mentioned.

“On another happy note, on the 12th of October 2021, PTAD formally launched the “I Am Alive” confirmation platform, an online application to confirm that Pensioners on our monthly pension payroll are alive and should continue to receive their pension.
This is a web-based platform designed to enable our Pensioners easily confirm their aliveness from the comfort of their homes or neighbourhood using either a smartphone or a computer system.”

This solution, she said, takes the Pensioner through a three-step confirmation process that ends with a text message response.

The Directorate has decided to deploy the application in phases, starting with fifty thousand (50,000) Pensioners cut across the four operational departments and the six geo-political zones, selected to participate in this pilot phase, stating that on the successful implementation of this pilot phase, the Directorate will deploy the application on a full scale at predetermined intervals on a continuous basis for all verified Pensioners on the payroll.

Dr Ejikeme said “PTAD will conduct the exercise here on all of you as you have been informed, so you can see and understand how it works. Other Pensioners who are part of this pilot phase have equally been notified by PTAD via SMS. We earlier promised that the era of bringing out our aged Pensioners for field verification is over, and we stand by our promise.

“Furthermore, the Government, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health has established a Ministerial Committee to look into the issue of providing Health Insurance for senior citizens. PTAD and representatives of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners are members of this Committee. We are consequently in collaboration with some of our stakeholders including the National Health Insurance Scheme, the National Senior Citizens Centre, and Federal Ministry of Health, to see how making health insurance available to our Pensioners can be a reality.

“We will continue to prioritise the welfare of our Pensioners and we call on all the Pension Unions under the Defined Benefit Scheme, and other stakeholders for their support in achieving this feat.”