The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has announced that the ongoing harmonisation of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) will eliminate long-standing disparities in pension payments, improve the welfare of retirees, and restore confidence in the administration of legacy pensions.
The exercise, approved under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is expected to ensure that pensioners who held similar positions and completed the same years of service receive fair and equitable pension benefits, irrespective of when they retired.
PTAD Executive Secretary, Tolulope Odunaiya, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos. She said the pension harmonisation programme represents one of the most significant reforms introduced under the Defined Benefit Scheme since PTAD was established in 2013, and is designed to promote fairness and social justice for eligible pensioners.
Explaining the reform, Odunaiya said pension harmonisation differs fundamentally from the routine pension increases that are typically implemented as fixed percentage adjustments.
According to her, the exercise involves a comprehensive recomputation of pensions using the latest approved salary structures that were in force before the Defined Benefit Scheme was closed.
“The objective is to ensure that retirees who held similar positions and served for comparable years receive equitable pension benefits irrespective of when they retired,” she said.
Odunaiya noted that the harmonisation exercise was introduced to address long-standing disparities in pension payments that have generated complaints from retirees over the years.
She added that the programme is intended to correct these historical imbalances by restoring fairness to the pension system.
According to her, pensions will be recalculated using the approved salary structures applicable before the Defined Benefit Scheme cut-off date, with benefits determined by rank, grade level, and years of service, rather than by the date of retirement.
She said the reform is expected to advance social justice by correcting historical inequalities that have affected thousands of retirees, while strengthening confidence in the administration of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme.
Odunaiya explained that the exercise primarily covers Federal Government pensioners and eligible retirees under the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), the Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and the Treasury-Funded Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Pension Department (TEHPD).
She added that eligible retirees who served under the Federal Government before their agencies were transferred to state governments are also included in the pension harmonisation programme.
