The Federal Capital Territory Administration has authorised the disbursement of N2,253,214,569.36 billion naira to cover pension, gratuity, and Group Life Insurance claims for 445 retirees, including the families of deceased FCT officers.
During a meeting in Abuja, the Director of the FCT Pension Department, Mr. Rotimi Ajayi informed pension desk officers from different Secretariats, Departments, and Agencies about this development.
He stated that the total amount would encompass the outstanding benefits from 2019 for the impacted personnel. The approval covers the accrued benefits for 197 retired individuals from various Secretariats, Departments, and Agencies of the FCT Administration. Additionally, it includes 248 individuals who are the next of kin to deceased personnel.
The Director further disclosed that of the N2.25bn sum, “N964,123,713.47 was for Next of Kin of the 248 deceased officers; N587,456,832.78 for payment of accrued right benefits to 197 Retirees; while N701,634,023.11 was released as pension arrears occasioned by salary increment of the year 2019.”
According to Ajayi, the FCTA will see to it that accrued benefits were given to employees who had started working before the Contributory Pension Scheme was created by the Pension Reform Act of 2004.
Adding that the payment also covered the 2019 arrears based on salary increase, he said the approval followed the payment into the beneficiary’s retirement savings accounts to access the retirement benefits from their pension fund administrators.
Ajayi applauded the FCTA’s top executives for their considerate action towards older persons, stating that the authorities were concerned with regular pension payments in order to raise pensioners’ standard of living.
He reaffirmed the FCTA’s commitment to placing a priority on the payment of pensions in order to enhance beneficiaries’ well-being while urging pension desk staff in the various SDAs and self-funded agencies to work to enhance staff reconciliation, which would, in turn, reduce the issues with the wrong pin or Pension Fund Administrators.
