Things to know about old pension scheme

What does PTAD stand for?

PTAD is an acronym for Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate.  It is a wholly treasury funded extra-ministerial agency under the Federal Ministry of Finance, responsible for the management of pensions under the old pension scheme (Defined Benefit Scheme-DBS) for pensioners who did not transit to the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which is in effect in Nigeria.

What is the difference between the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) and Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) ?

The Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) is the pension scheme that was in effect in Nigeria until 2007 when it was replaced with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act (PFA) 2004 and 2014.

Under the DBS, the total pension obligation is borne by the government as against the CPS where the accumulated pension at retirement is based on a pension plan in which an employer/employee contributes in varying percentages to build a retirement fund for an individual.Under the CPS, the pension fund exists from the onset and payments can be made as at when due unlike the DBS which is wholly dependent on government treasury for funding.

Who are the pensioners under PTAD management?

Any federal public sector employee entitled to retirement benefits that retired on or before June 30, 2007 and has worked in any of the pension groups below falls under PTAD management.

Pension Groups (Departments) under PTAD in accordance with Section 43 (3) of the Pension Reform Act are the Civil Service Pension Department (CSPD); Police Pension Department (PPD); Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department (CIPPD); Treasury Funded Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD); and Pension Support Services Department (PSSD)

 What of State Pensioners? The following public sector employees irrespective of when they retired are, however, NOT under PTAD’S jurisdiction:

There are also some state pensioners who are entitled to federal share. To be a state pensioner with federal share, a retiree must have been in employment for one of the regions of Nigeria before March 31,1976 and retired before March 31, 2011.

The categories of persons mentioned in S. 291 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended are judicial officers of the Supreme Court & Court of Appeal; Members of the Armed Forces; and the intelligence and secret services of the Federation

Why is verification necessary?

It is necessary for PTAD to carry out verification to ascertain the proof of life and create a credible database of all pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). 

PTAD did not inherit a credible pensioners’ database, there is therefore an urgent need to verify all pensioners under the DBS to enable PTAD resolve their complaints: The verification of pensioners is aimed at the establishment of an accurate, credible, and digitized database of pensioners under DBS and for complaint resolution; Eliminating duplicate payments and ghost pensioners; Regularizing anomalies such as overpayments and underpayments; obtaining relevant work records to ensure accurate computation of pension payment; and Updating the records of the Next-of-Kin (NoK) for payment of death benefit

What documents are needed for verification?

Documents required for verification may vary from one pension group to another.

In the case of Parastatal Pensioners; Letter of First Appointment; Letter of Confirmation; Letter of Last Promotion; Approved Letter of Retirement; Evidence of Change of Name (where applicable}; Evidence of Transfer of Service (where applicable); BVN Registration Slip (stamped and signed by the bank); Original and Stamped Bank Statement for the last one month; Valid means of Identification (Driving License, Int’l Passport, National ID Card or Voters Registration Card). For Due Pensioners, Birth Certificate/Sworn Affidavit of Age is required while Disengaged Retirees are to provide Evidence of Payment of Gratuity/Severance Pay Slip.

In the case of Civil Service Pensioners, documents required are Letter/Gazette of 1st appointment; Letter/Gazette of confirmation of appointment; Letter/Gazette of last Promotion; Letter/Notice of retirement approved by a competent Authority; Severance Pay slip(Disengaged Retirees only); Evidence of change of name (Where applicable); Duly stamped and signed NUBAN Bank statement on the Bank letterhead from period of retirement or date from which complaint was made till date; Computation Sheet duly stamped and signed by the State Auditor (State Pensioners with Federal Share); Birth Certificate/Age Declaration (Due Pensioners only);  coloured Passport Photograph; Approval Letter of Merger/Condonation from Head of service OHCF (For those who merged their service).

For Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensioners, required documents are Letter/Gazette of 1st appointment; Letter/Gazette of confirmation of appointment; Letter/Gazette of last Promotion; Original Stamped and Signed Bank; Approval Letter of Merger/Condonation of service (Where Applicable); Evidence of Change of Name (Where applicable; Birth Certificate/Age Declaration (Due Pensioners only); Letter/Acceptance of Retirement, Severance Pay Slip(For Downsized Officers); and Identity Card.