President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved an increment for pensioners.

Its Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, broke the news during the inauguration of PTAD’s State Office in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

She said the increment would take effect from January 1, this year and implementation, as proposed by it, this month.

She noted that the increment was historic as it was the first time the Federal Government had proactively approved same for pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

She urged pensioners who were yet to do the “I Am Alive” Confirmation Solution.

She enjoined the union executives to assist the Directorate in spreading this information to their members.

She said the PTAD’s officers in the new Kwara State branch office would assist anyone with challenges. She added that the mobile team would visit the infirm and bed-ridden pensioners.

She welcomed prospective new enrollees, the legacy pensioners, from the Federal Mortgage Finance Limited and Federal Mortgage Bank whom they are verifying and assured them of PTAD’s commitment to their welfare.

She further expressed gratitude to Tinubu for his commitment to the welfare of pensioners through the prompt release of funds for the payment of pensions and continued liquidation of inherited pension liabilities.

She stressed that their commitment to pensioners remains sacrosanct.

On the new branch, she said: “Since inception in 2013, PTAD has opened 11 State offices across the six geo-political zones of the country and this Kwara State office we are inaugurating would make it the 12th PTAD state office, in addition to the Abuja Office which is the headquarters.

“PTAD has offices in the following cities: Yola, Awka, Maiduguri, Ibadan, Benin, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Sokoto, Yobe, and, now, Ilorin. The aim of establishing these offices in strategically-selected locations nationwide is to bring our exceptional pension services closer to the doorstep of Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners that are being managed by PTAD as mandated in the Pension Reform Act 2014, Section 47 (2)

“You may recall that prior to the establishment of PTAD in August 2013; the DBS Administration under the Old Pension Offices faced overwhelming challenges. These challenges were an accumulation of a number of negative incidents emanating from administrative bottlenecks in accessing pension services, poor funding of pension liabilities, as well as poor service delivery to pensioners. Our pensioners can certainly attest that those major challenges are now all in the past with the advent of PTAD. In the last decade of operation, PTAD has reformed and revolutionised pension administration using technology.

“We have implemented service innovations that have been proactive and intentional, from automating and streamlining our core operational processes, to digitisation of pensioner’s employment records, electronic computation of pension benefits, pension payments, complaints resolution, the Back End computation project, and the “I Am Alive” Confirmation Solution. These and more are programmes carried out to strengthen and improve PTAD’s operations, eradicate the stress DBS pensioners go through to get their pensions, and ensure that the welfare of our pensioners remains our topmost priority”.

Furthermore, she said following complaints from Next-of-Kin (Nok) of deceased pensioners and pensioners on the non-payment of inherited liabilities, she had inaugurated a ‘Directorate-Wide’ Expanded NoK and Gratuity Project last December, to address their complaints such as the non-payment of gratuities and death benefits to NoK of deceased pensioners across the pension departments.

“I am glad to announce that as of July 19, this year, the Directorate has processed and paid N395.55 million as death benefits and gratuity to 238 Next-of-Kin (NoK) of deceased pensioners and pensioners. The project is still on-going.

“The rest of the NoK and gratuity benefit claims files are still undergoing checks and validation, because, as I often say, any money that is wrongly paid to a NoK beneficiary is like money put in the belly of the tiger, as it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to recover.

“Nevertheless, it is worthy to note that PTAD is working with the relevant stakeholders and high courts across the federation to ensure that the Letters of Administration in favour of the NoK are validated within the shortest time, and other related checks completed to enable the beneficiaries receive their entitlements in the shortest possible time,” she added.