The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has reaffirmed that the implementation of the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) Pension Harmonisation is a major reform aimed at promoting fairness and improving equity in pension payments across Nigeria.

According to the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of PTAD, Tolulope Abiodun Odunaiya, the initiative represents a landmark reform designed to improve the welfare of retirees while reinforcing confidence in the administration of Nigeria’s legacy pension system.

The harmonisation programme received approval under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and stands as one of the most significant policy interventions introduced within the Defined Benefit Scheme since PTAD assumed responsibility for managing pensions under the former Federal Government pension arrangement in 2013.

Odunaiya explained that the reform differs fundamentally from routine pension increases, which simply raise existing pension benefits by a fixed percentage. Instead, the harmonisation exercise involves a complete recomputation of pensions using the most recently approved salary structures that were in place before the Defined Benefit Scheme was closed.

She noted that the objective is to ensure retirees who occupied similar positions and completed comparable years of service receive equitable pension benefits irrespective of the dates they retired. The initiative follows years of complaints and agitation by pensioners over historical disparities in the computation of pension benefits.

PTAD said the harmonisation programme is intended to eliminate those long-standing inconsistencies by restoring parity within the pension system. Under the reform, pensions are formally recalculated using the approved salary structures applicable before the Defined Benefit Scheme cut-off date.

As a result, pension benefits will be determined based on an individual’s rank, grade level and years of service rather than the year of retirement. The Directorate believes this approach will enhance social justice by correcting historical inequalities that have affected thousands of retirees.

The harmonisation exercise primarily covers pure Federal Government pensioners as well as eligible retirees under the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and the Education and Health Pension Department (TEHPD). It also includes retirees who initially served under the Federal Government before their agencies were transferred to state governments.

Source: New Telegraph