Over the weekend, the Military Pensions Board announced that it had paid all outstanding shortfalls in gratuities for pensioners who retired or were discharged between April 2019 and May 2021.
The accomplishment of successfully paying out the outstanding shortfall, which had been a recurring issue of crisis among retired military personnel, has elicited encomiums and commendation from affected pensioners, with many of them applauding the management of the pensions board and the defense headquarters for keeping their promise to offset the shortfall.
This was revealed in a statement signed by Flight Lieutenant O Lawal, Public Relations Officer, on behalf of the Chairman of the MPB, Commodore Saburi Abayomi Lawal.
“The Military Pensions Board (MPB) extends its compliments to our esteemed military retirees and wishes to inform them and their Next of Kin (NOK) that the Board has paid the shortfall in gratuities of military retirees who retired/discharged from the Services between 18 April 2019 and 31 May 2021 to their respective bank accounts today, 29 July 2021,” it says.
“This payment is being made in response to the implementation of the new pension chart released by the National Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) in April 2021 as a result of the implementation of the consequential pension adjustments.”
“In addition, the Board has paid the shortfall in the gratuities of deceased retirees who retired/discharged within the same time frame to the respective bank accounts of their recorded NOK or family members who had previously received the deceased’s death benefits.
“The Board would like to emphasize that this payment is primarily for the shortfall in gratuities paid to personnel who retired/discharged from service between 18 April 2019 and 31 May 2021, and ‘Not’ for the outstanding 24 months (April 2019 – April 2021) arrears of consequential pension adjustments.
“Our esteemed pensioners should be aware that the Board is in constant contact with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning (FMoFBNP) regarding the release of funds to cover these specific arrears.
“It is also worth noting that pensions or gratuities of senior officers of the rank of Major General and above, or their equivalents, are unaffected by the consequential pension adjustments brought about by the new National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019.” The MPB wishes to reassure our esteemed military retirees, NOKs, and other well-meaning Nigerians that the Board remains steadfast and will continue to pay all entitlements due to all military retirees or their NOK as soon as funds become available.
It praised pensioners who had outstanding benefits to collect for their “patience, understanding, and continued support to the Chairman Military Pensions Board.”
Source: Vanguard
