The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has disbursed N3.82 billion in pension arrears to 30,356 retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

The payment follows a review of outstanding pension computations.

The payment, which amounted to N3,817,568,592.8, was made to pensioners across the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and Tertiary, Education and Health Pension Department (TEHPD).

The arrears arose from the Back-End Computation (BEC) Review Exercise, which PTAD undertook to examine complaints relating to pension computations and determine outstanding entitlements owed to affected pensioners.

The latest payment is one of the measures the Directorate is implementing to resolve outstanding liabilities under the old pension system and reconcile pension records where discrepancies have been identified.

PTAD, established to administer pension benefits under the Defined Benefit Scheme, inherited pension obligations previously managed by different government agencies following the transition to the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The Defined Benefit Scheme covers public sector workers who were under the old pension arrangement before the contributory system was implemented. Pensioners under the scheme have, over the years, raised complaints about unpaid arrears, payment delays, incorrect computations, and other outstanding benefits.

The BEC review was introduced to address some of these issues by examining pension records and verifying claims for additional payments. The process involves reviewing pension computations and determining whether affected pensioners are entitled to further payments.

PTAD said the latest disbursement followed the verification of claims arising from the exercise.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Tolulope Odunaiya, thanked the affected pensioners for their cooperation during the review process and reaffirmed the Directorate’s commitment to timely and transparent payment of verified pension entitlements.

She said the payment reflected the Federal Government’s efforts to address pension-related issues and improve pension administration under the Defined Benefit Scheme.

The Directorate said it would continue to engage DBS pensioners, resolve pension-related complaints and ensure the payment of verified entitlements.

The N3.82 billion disbursement comes against the backdrop of persistent concerns over pension arrears and delays affecting some retirees under the old pension arrangement. The BEC exercise is expected to clear verified arrears, reduce outstanding obligations, and provide relief to pensioners whose entitlements were affected by computation discrepancies.

The DBS covers public sector workers who were under the old pension arrangements before the transition to the CPS.

PTAD processes and pays their pensions, reviews pension records, and addresses complaints about pension payments and entitlements.

Over the years, pensioners under the DBS have raised complaints over unpaid arrears, delays, incorrect pension computations and non-payment of certain benefits.

Some of these issues arose from discrepancies in service records, salary history, pensionable years and previous pension reviews.

To address such complaints, PTAD introduced the Back-End Computation (BEC) review exercise to examine pension records and reconcile outstanding entitlements.

The exercise involves reviewing individual pension computations and determining whether affected pensioners are owed additional amounts.