The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) says it has intention of creating a new and genuine database of pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme, DBS, by embarking on a verification exercise in the future. However, pensioners under the scheme are skeptical of any verification going forward

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

PTAD is an agency of the federal government established in August 2013 in compliance with the provisions of section 30 sub-section (2) (a) of the Pension Reform Act of 2004 (now amended in 2014) for the management of the pension of the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), that is, pensioners who did not transit to the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. PTAD is responsible for pensioners who have retired before June 2007.

Prior to the establishment of PTAD, DBS pensioners were subjected to various verification exercises to ascertain if they are genuine pensioners or not. Despite the fact that these exercises gulped down billions of naira, nothing came out of them.

Now, PTAD says it plans to embark on a new verification and biometric data capture exercise in order to establish a comprehensive, authentic and credible database of pensioners under the DBS which will ensure effective planning and management of pensions.

According to the Director General of PTAD, Mrs. Nellie Mayshak the verification exercise will eliminate ghost pensioners; eliminate duplication of payments; correct and eradicate anomalies such as over payments and short payments; pay pensions, gratuities, death benefits and other pensioner entitlements; update records of next of kin; and enrol new pensioners.

Contrary to PTAD’s expectation that DBS pensioners will be happy with this announcement, pensioners say they are fatigued with previous verification exercises and are skeptical of any other one.

According to Comrade David Adodo, a pensioner under the DBS, having gone through two previous tiresome verification exercises in the past, he views any future verification as an effort in futility.

Adodo said that pensioners don’t want to hear of another verification, instead what they want is that their pension entitlements are paid regularly and those whose names are not on the list be added to it.

According to Adodo, there are pensioners who have not collected their pension benefits since 2007 when they retired; as such, PTAD DG should be bothered about that and not another round of verification.

State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Joseph Dele said that pensioners are tired of completing forms all the time without any result. “We keep completing forms without results and we are tired,” Dele said.

According to Dele, since 2006, after the rightsizing in the civil service by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a lot of pensioners have not been collecting their monthly pension while some have not collected their gratuity.

General Secretary, National Union of Pensioners, Chief Adeniyi Okunlade said that the federal government should alleviate the suffering and plight of pensioners by first allocating money for the arrears being owed pensioners.

According to him, the federal government should desist from punishing pensioners that served their fatherland during their years of active service.

However, PTAD DG said that the Directorate was able to restore payment of monthly pension to genuine pensioners removed from payroll, adding “We successfully conducted a mini-verification of some categories of Police and Civil Service pensioners and have been placed on the payroll.

PTAD also established a robust complaints resolution mechanism, improves services for pensioners, tackling of reported fraud cases in collaboration with pensioners, unions and agencies, such as; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“Moreover, we digitalise pension payments, with huge efforts underway to move from manual to automatic systems and processes, even as we have improved understanding and collaboration with unions, banks and other partners.

Above all, there has not been a single incident of misappropriation of pension funds since PTAD came on board in 2013, thus, exhibiting zero tolerance for corruption,” she said.

Mayshak however said that the Directorate is challenged by lack of adequate awareness by some concerned stakeholders about PTAD, as well as wrong impression of PTAD by some pensioners and critical stakeholders continue to pose a threat on the operation of the directorate.

“Moreover, huge pension liabilities, absence of credible database and resistance to change/entrenched interest are equally a clog in the wheel of our progress,” she stated.