The federal government has disbursed N5.12 billion in outstanding pension arrears to 90,689 retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), reaffirming its pledge to prioritise the welfare of senior citizens.
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) confirmed the release and payment in a statement signed by its head of corporate communications, Olugbenga Ajayi.
He said the disbursement covered pensioners across the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Prisons Pension Department (CIPPD), Police Pension Department (PPD), Civil Service Pension Department (CSPD), and Parastatals Pension Department (PAPD).
According to PTAD’s breakdown, 8,626 CIPPD pensioners received N276.03 million for one month’s arrears; 9,681 PPD pensioners got N619.58 million for two months; 12,773 CSPD pensioners received N408.74 million for one month; while 59,609 PAPD pensioners were paid N3.81 billion.
PTAD executive secretary Tolulope Odunaiya, said the move underscores President Bola Tinubu’s “strong commitment to senior citizens’ welfare” under his Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as “a new era in DBS pension management.”
Penultimate week, Tinubu approved far-reaching reforms for the DBS, including an extra budgetary allocation to enforce new pension rates, the adoption of a harmonisation policy to be incorporated into the 2026 pension budget, and the extension of health insurance coverage to all DBS pensioners through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The reforms introduced a N32,000 base pension rate, with incremental increases of 10.66 per cent and 12.95per cent for retirees from defunct and privatised agencies. The harmonisation will align pension payments across all DBS categories.
In June, PTAD disbursed N8.6 billion in arrears to 148,625 DBS pensioners, implementing the N32,000 pension increment approved in 2024. Earlier, the agency had settled arrears arising from the first pension increment of twenty per cent to twenty-eight per cent, which took effect in January 2024.
