FG scraps three-month pre-retirement leave for civil servants

FG scraps three-month pre-retirement leave for civil servants

The Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to immediately stop the practice of placing civil servants on what is commonly called a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, saying the provision does not exist in the Public Service Rules.

The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, and addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies and other senior public sector administrators.

In the circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” obtained in Abuja, the Head of Service said several MDAs had wrongly interpreted the retirement notice period as an automatic leave, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active duty.

According to her, the Public Service Rule only requires officers approaching retirement to give three months’ notice, attend a one-month pre-retirement workshop or seminar, and use the remaining period to regularise service records and pension documentation.

“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” Walson-Jack stated.

She explained that Rule 120243 outlines three separate requirements: a notice obligation, attendance at a pre-retirement seminar during the first month, and completion of retirement-related documentation within the remaining two months.

“A retiring officer must give three months’ notice before their effective date of retirement. This is a notice requirement, not a leave entitlement,” the circular stated.

The Head of Service stressed that retiring officers remain in service throughout the notice period and are expected to continue performing their official duties, except when attending approved retirement workshops or where granted leave under existing regulations.

“PSR 120243 does not exempt retiring officers from official duties during the notice period, except where they are attending an approved pre-retirement workshop or seminar, or are otherwise authorised to be absent under extant leave rules,” the circular added.

Following this clarification, all MDAs have been directed to stop forcing retiring officers to vacate their posts before their official retirement dates.

Under the new directive, ministries and agencies must ensure that retiring officers continue their responsibilities, take part in approved pre-retirement programmes, and complete pension and service record reconciliation before exit.

The circular also instructed permanent secretaries, directors-general, executive secretaries, chairpersons of statutory agencies and chief executives to ensure full compliance and communicate the directive to staff.

The clarification is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants approaching retirement annually.

For years, many MDAs treated the retirement notice period as a form of extended leave, often asking officers to stop reporting once they submitted retirement notices.

In practice, many workers stayed away from duty while awaiting pension processing.

The new directive is aimed at standardising implementation of the Public Service Rules across MDAs and preventing loss of manpower caused by early disengagement of experienced officers.

The government also believes the policy will improve service delivery by ensuring retiring officers remain active while completing documentation required for pension processing.

Nigeria’s federal civil service retirement system is governed by the Public Service Rules and the Pension Reform Act.

Civil servants retire upon reaching 60 years of age or after 35 years in service, whichever comes first.

Over the years, delays in pension processing and inconsistencies in personnel records have remained key challenges, prompting efforts to improve early documentation and verification of retirement records.

To address these issues, pre-retirement seminars were introduced to prepare officers for retirement and guide them through pension procedures. However, inconsistent interpretation of the rules across MDAs led to the widespread belief that the three-month period was a compulsory leave.

The latest circular clarifies that the period is a notice and administrative preparation window, not an automatic period of absence from duty.