June 02, (THEWILL) — The Federal Government has abolished the long-standing practice of placing civil servants on mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, directing all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure officers due for retirement remain at their duty posts until their official exit dates.
The directive, issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, effectively ends what has become a common practice across many government institutions, where retiring officers are withdrawn from active service months before their statutory retirement date.
Contained in a circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities”, and addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies and other senior public officials, the directive clarified that the Public Service Rules do not provide for any mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave.
According to Walson-Jack, several MDAs had wrongly interpreted the retirement notice requirement under the Public Service Rules as an entitlement to leave, leading to the premature disengagement of experienced officers and avoidable manpower gaps within the public service.
“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules”, she stated in the circular.
The Head of Service explained that Rule 120243 establishes three separate obligations for officers approaching retirement: a three-month notice before retirement, participation in a pre-retirement seminar or workshop during the first month of the notice period, and the completion of service record reconciliation and pension documentation during 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.
She stressed that officers due for retirement remain employees of the Federal Government throughout the notice period and are expected to continue carrying out their official responsibilities unless they are attending approved pre-retirement programmes or have been granted leave in accordance with 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.
As a result, all MDAs have been directed to immediately discontinue the practice of compelling officers to vacate their positions before their official retirement dates.
Under the new directive, ministries and agencies must ensure that retiring officers continue to perform their assigned duties, attend approved pre-retirement activities and complete all pension-related documentation and service record reconciliations before leaving service.
The move is to standardise the implementation of retirement procedures across the federal public service and eliminate longstanding ambiguities surrounding the interpretation of retirement notice provisions.
Nigeria’s federal civil service retirement framework is governed by the public service rules and the Pension Reform Act. Under existing regulations, officers retire upon attaining the age of 60 years or after completing 35 years of service, whichever comes first.
Government officials believe the policy will improve service delivery by preventing the premature loss of experienced personnel, preserving institutional memory and ensuring retiring officers continue contributing their expertise until their official exit from service.
The circular further directed permanent secretaries, directors-general, executive secretaries, chairpersons of statutory agencies and chief executives of government organisations to bring the new directive to the attention of all staff and ensure strict compliance.
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