The federal government has directed ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to immediately discontinue the practice of placing civil servants on what is commonly referred to as a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, declaring that such a 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 top government officials, including 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,” which was obtained in Abuja, the Head of Service said several MDAs had wrongly interpreted the retirement notice period as an automatic leave period, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.
According to her, the Public Service Rule only requires officers due for retirement to give three months’ notice before their exit date, 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 establishes three distinct requirements: a notice obligation, attendance at a pre-retirement seminar during the first month, and completion of retirement-related 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.
The Head of Service stressed that retiring officers remain public servants throughout the notice period and are expected to continue performing their official duties unless they are attending approved retirement workshops or have been 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.
Consequently, all MDAs have been directed to stop compelling retiring officers to vacate their posts before their official retirement dates.
Under the new directive, ministries and agencies must ensure that retiring officers continue to discharge their responsibilities, participate in approved pre-retirement programmes, and complete all pension and service record reconciliations before leaving service.
The circular further instructed permanent secretaries, directors-general, executive secretaries, chairpersons of statutory agencies and chief executives of government organisations to bring the directive to the attention of all staff and ensure strict compliance.
The clarification is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants approaching retirement each year.
For decades, many MDAs interpreted the retirement notice period as a form of extended leave, often directing officers to stop reporting for duty once they submitted their retirement notices. In practice, many workers spent the period away from work while awaiting retirement processing.
The Head of Service’s directive seeks to standardise the implementation of the Public Service Rules across government institutions and prevent the loss of manpower arising from the early disengagement of experienced officers.
The government also believes the measure could improve service delivery by ensuring that retiring officers continue contributing their expertise until their official exit dates while simultaneously completing documentation required for pension processing.
Nigeria’s federal civil service retirement framework is governed by the Public Service Rules and the Pension Reform Act.
Under the rules, civil servants retire upon attaining 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 major challenges for retiring public servants, prompting government efforts to encourage early documentation and verification of retirement records.
To address these concerns, pre-retirement seminars were introduced to prepare officers for life after service and guide them through pension documentation procedures.
However, differing interpretations of the relevant Public Service Rules across MDAs led to the widespread belief that officers were entitled to a compulsory three-month pre-retirement leave.
The latest circular seeks to end that ambiguity by affirming that the three-month period is primarily a notice and administrative preparation window rather than a period of automatic absence from duty.
