The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has announced that it disbursed a total of ₦55.9 billion in December 2025 to settle monthly pension payments and long-standing arrears owed to retirees and the families of deceased pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).
In a statement issued on Friday by PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, the Directorate said the payments were part of ongoing efforts to clear outstanding pension liabilities and improve the welfare of senior citizens.
According to the statement, ₦13.41 billion of the total amount was paid as regular monthly pensions to beneficiaries across all pension departments, including pensioners residing outside the country. The bulk of the funds, amounting to ₦42.5 billion, was applied to the settlement of accumulated arrears.
PTAD explained that the arrears covered unpaid obligations arising from the ₦32,000 pension increment, as well as the 10.66 per cent and 12.95 per cent pension increases approved in previous years. Other liabilities addressed included outstanding gratuities and death benefits owed to eligible retirees and their next-of-kin.
A department-by-department breakdown showed that the Civil Service Pension Department received the highest allocation, with ₦16.36 billion paid to 71,643 pensioners. Pensioners under the Defunct and Transferred Agencies Department were paid ₦15.07 billion, covering 24,995 beneficiaries.
The Parastatals Pension Department received ₦7.81 billion for 25,718 pensioners, while the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department recorded payments of ₦604.33 million to 8,606 retirees. In the Tertiary Education and Health Department, ₦2.37 billion was disbursed to 28,245 pensioners. The Police Pension Department received ₦5.88 million for five pensioners.
In addition, PTAD said ₦289.11 million was paid as gratuity and death benefits to the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners.
The Directorate noted that the December payments fully cleared arrears linked to the ₦32,000 pension increment across all departments, with the exception of one outstanding month each for pensioners in the Parastatals Pension Department and the Tertiary Education and Health Department.
Reacting to the development, PTAD Executive Secretary, Tolulope Odunaiya, said the disbursement demonstrated the Federal Government’s resolve to prioritise the welfare of retirees. She described the payments as a reflection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places emphasis on social protection and the well-being of senior citizens.
Odunaiya assured pensioners that efforts were ongoing to clear the remaining one-month arrears in the affected departments and to introduce additional initiatives aimed at improving service delivery and overall pension administration.
PTAD is responsible for managing and paying pensions to federal retirees under the old Defined Benefits Scheme, which applies mainly to workers who retired before the introduction of the contributory pension system in 2004.
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