PTAD to commence Pensioners Verification Exercise with Police pension

ABUJA (PTAD Report) – The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has concluded arrangements to commence its proposed National Pensioners Biometric Verification Exercise for pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

The release from the Director – General of PTAD, Nellie Masyshak on Wednesday December 3, 2014 said that the purpose of the exercise includes amongst others to establish a reliable pensioners database; capture all eligible pensioners and their next of kin, who have not been pay-rolled; reduce the anxiety of pensioners,  who have not been paid for a very long time and to reduce the backlog and myriads of complaints as well as conduct a once-and-for-all exercise to reduce the sufferings of multiple verifications.

Nellie Masyshak informed that the verification exercise which will begin with Police pensioners is the first in the series of a comprehensive verification exercise to be conducted in two phases, comprising:6 Police zonal formations in each phase. According to her, the first phase of the exercise will commence on December 8, 2014 and will be concluded on the 18th of December 2014. 

The zones listed for the exercise are:  Zone 1 – Jigawa, Kano, Katsina (Police Zonal Command HQ, Kano); Zone 3 – Adamawa,Taraba, Gombe (Police Zonal Command HQ, Gombe); Zone 4a – Benue (Zonal Command, Makurdi);  Zone 4b – Plateau/Nassarawa (Zonal Command, Jos); Zone 7 – FCT, Niger, Kaduna (Police Zonal Command HQ, Kaduna); Zone 10 – Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto (Police Zonal Command HQ, Sokoto) and Zone 12 – Yobe, Bauchi, Borno (Police Zonal Command HQ, Bauchi).

In order to allay the fears of all other categories of pensioners, Nellie Masyshak said that the nationwide biometric verification exercise has just began and all pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) or the old pension system will be covered subsequently. She further stated that all Police pensioners in the afore mentioned zones, who retired on or before the 30th of June 2007 are to attend the exercise with all necessary documents, including the original and photocopies of their Letter/Gazette of First Appointment, Letter of Last Promotion, Letter of Retirement, Duly signed NUBAN Bank Statements with bank logo, Letter of Introduction from their last command of service.

She intensified that the Next of Kins of Deceased Police Pensioners are expected to attend with the original and photocopies of  Death Certificate, Letter of Administration as well as  Letter of Introduction or Identification from the command where the deceased last served and  the Affidavit of Next of Kin. “The verification exercise will run simultaneously from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily. All logistic arrangements to ensure the adequate comfort of Pensioners during the exercise have been completed,” She explained.  

PTAD DG called on all stakeholders in the public pensions sub-sector, especially the Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (ARPON) to rally together all their affected members and ensure their participation in the exercise.