The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has distributed more than N1.64 billion in benefits to 776 verified next of kin (NoK) of deceased pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), the agency announced on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, the disbursements covered various pension sectors, including civil service, police, parastatals, customs, immigration, and prisons.
Of the total amount, N1.48 billion was allocated to 629 next of kin under the parastatals pension department. Additionally, 103 next of kin under the civil service pension department received N101.14 million, while 43 beneficiaries from the police pension department were paid N58.95 million. A single beneficiary from the customs, immigration, and prisons department received N2.43 million.
PTAD’s Executive Secretary, Tolulope Odunaiya, stated that the disbursement demonstrates the agency’s commitment to settling the entitlements of deceased pensioners, contingent on the availability of funds.
She emphasised that the payments would provide much-needed support to the recipients, reinforcing PTAD’s mission to assist pensioners and their families. She also affirmed that the agency remains dedicated to delivering efficient and timely pension payments in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
In a related development, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced a policy change that grants Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) full authority to approve and process several categories of retirement benefits without prior approval from the Commission. This new directive, effective June 1, 2025, aims to streamline pension payments and eliminate bureaucratic delays in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Under the new policy, PFAs will process, approve, and complete payment instructions within two working days once all required documentation is submitted, with payments being credited to beneficiaries’ accounts within 24 hours.
