DG Assures Pensioners Of Prompt Benefits’ Payment

The Director-General of Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD), Mrs Nellie Mayshak, has assured pensioners of prompt payment of their pension benefits after retirement.

Mayshak gave the assurance in Abuja, when the Commissioner of FCT Public Complaints Commission (PCC) Mr Obunike Ohaegbu, paid her a courtesy call.

She said that the PTAD would partner with anti-corruption agencies like PCC, ICPC, EFCC, and workers’ unions to ensure that pensioners got what is due to them on retirement. “We promise to promptly look into pensioners complaints.’’

She said that with the current benefits of technology such as the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, delay in the payment of pension benefits would no longer be acceptable.

“We are going to monitor the banks for quick payment of pensioners’ benefits; we will suggest to people who are not satisfied with certain bank services to seek better services from other banks,’’ she said.

She said PTAD planned to set up a Website to intimate pensioners about their entitlements and how to calculate their pensions.

Mayshak decried past years’ turmoil in the pension sector, and promised to adopt “complaint resolution mechanism’’.

Ohaegbu said the best way to fight corruption in the public service was to put the pension system right.

The FCT commissioner, who said 60 per cent of the cases handled by the commission were pension-related, decried situations where pensions were not paid after several years of retirement.

“The only way our retirees can be taken care of in Nigeria is to get the pension system right. “My major area of concern is the Police Force Pension Scheme where many police officers have not been paid pension benefits for many years.

“I appeal for these area to be urgently looked into,’’ Ohaegbu said.

Our correspondent reports that PTAD was established in November 2013 to address the needs of pensioners.