PTAD disburses N55.9bn pension payments, clears major arrears for DBS retirees

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) disbursed a total of ₦55.9 billion as monthly pensions and outstanding pension arrears to eligible pensioners and next-of-kin of deceased retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) in December 2025, marking one of the most significant pension payments in recent years.

In a statement by the Directorate, PTAD confirmed that the payment covered “₦13,411,400,362.87 as monthly pensions across all operations pension departments, including Diaspora Pensioners,” alongside “₦42,501,348,236.06 paid as pension arrears”.

The statement, signed by Olugbenga Ajayi, Head of the Corporate Communications Unit, described the exercise as a major step in addressing long-standing pension obligations owed to senior citizens.

It explained that  the arrears payment addressed “outstanding obligations arising from the ₦32,000.00 pension increment, as well as the 10.66% and 12.95% pension increments,” in addition to “other accrued pension arrears, gratuity, and death benefits owed to eligible beneficiaries”.

The directorate explained that the payments cut across all pension departments, ensuring that long-delayed entitlements were finally settled for thousands of retirees.

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The statement detailed that the beneficiaries included pensioners under the Police Pension Department, Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department, Civil Service Pension Department, Defunct and Transferred Agencies Department, Parastatals Pension Department, as well as those under the Tertiary Education and Health Department.

It also confirmed that gratuity and death benefits were paid to eligible next-of-kin of deceased pensioners, bringing relief to families who had waited years for closure.

PTAD noted: “With these payments, arrears resulting from the ₦32,000.00 pension increment have been fully liquidated across all pension departments,” except for “one month each outstanding for pensioners in the PaPD and TEHD.”

The Directorate described this as a near-complete resolution of the increment-related arrears that had been a major concern among DBS retirees.

Reacting to what she described as a milestone achievement, the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Tolulope Odunaiya, said the payments “reflect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR’s unwavering commitment to the welfare of senior citizens,” adding that the intervention aligns squarely with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

 She stressed that the focus of government remains on restoring dignity and financial stability to pensioners who devoted their productive years to public service.

Odunaiya reassured retirees that PTAD remains committed to “clearing the remaining one (1) month arrears owed to PaPD and TEHD,” while also “continuing to implement initiatives aimed at improving the welfare and overall well-being of DBS Pensioners”. She emphasised that the Directorate will sustain its efforts to ensure prompt and transparent pension administration.

The December 2025 disbursement, PTAD said, underscored a renewed push to address pension backlogs, strengthen confidence in the pension system and reaffirm government’s responsibility to honour its obligations to retirees and their families.