The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has disbursed a total of ₦55.9 billion to pensioners and their families across Nigeria, covering monthly pensions and long-standing arrears, in a move aimed at easing the financial burden on retirees.
The payments, made in December 2025, were to pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), including the Next-of-Kin (NoK) of deceased pensioners. PTAD announced the disbursement on Friday in Abuja, explaining that it covered both regular monthly pensions and outstanding arrears arising from approved pension increases.
The agency said the exercise underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of senior citizens and meeting its pension obligations.
The disclosure was contained in a statement issued by the Head of the Corporate Communications Unit of PTAD, Mr. Olugbenga Ajayi, who said ₦13.41 billion was paid as monthly pensions, while ₦42.50 billion was used to clear pension arrears.
Providing a detailed breakdown, Mr. Ajayi said ₦13,411,400,362.87 was paid as monthly pensions across all PTAD pension departments, including Diaspora Pensioners, while ₦42,501,348,236.06 was disbursed as pension arrears.
He explained that the arrears covered outstanding obligations arising from the ₦32,000 pension increment, as well as the 10.66 per cent and 12.95 per cent pension increases approved by the Federal Government. According to him, other accrued arrears, including gratuity and death benefits owed to eligible beneficiaries, were also settled.
On the department-by-department payments, Mr. Ajayi said the Police Pension Department (PPD) paid ₦5,881,592.00 to five pensioners, while the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department (CIPPD) disbursed ₦604,332,733.96 to 8,606 pensioners.
He added that the Civil Service Pension Department (CSPD) paid ₦16,362,359,730.91 to 71,643 pensioners, while the Defunct and Transferred Agencies Department (DTAD) disbursed ₦15,066,055,536.83 to 24,995 pensioners.
According to him, ₦7,808,635,906.98 was paid to 25,718 pensioners under the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), while 28,245 pensioners in the Tertiary Education and Health Department (TEHD) received ₦2,370,854,790.39.
“Also, gratuity and death benefits totalling ₦289,109,536.99 were paid to eligible Next-of-Kin of deceased pensioners,” Mr. Ajayi said.
He noted that, with the latest disbursements, arrears arising from the ₦32,000 pension increment had been fully cleared across all pension departments, except for one month outstanding for pensioners under the PaPD and the TEHD.
Reacting to the development, the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Mrs. Tolulope Odunaiya, said the payments reflected President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare of senior citizens, in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She assured pensioners that PTAD remained committed to clearing the remaining one-month arrears owed to PaPD and TEHD pensioners, while sustaining reforms and initiatives aimed at improving the welfare and overall well-being of DBS pensioners.
