FG BANS MANDATORY 3-MONTH PRE-RETIREMENT LEAVE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS. (PHOTO).

 FG Bans Mandatory 3-Month Pre-Retirement Leave for Civil Servants

The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to immediately stop the practice of placing civil servants on mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave, declaring that no such provision exists in the Public Service Rules.

In a circular issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, the government described the widespread practice as a misinterpretation of the rules.

The circular, titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” was addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies and other top government officials.

According to Walson-Jack, many MDAs had wrongly treated the three-month retirement notice period as an automatic leave, leading to the premature withdrawal of officers from active service.

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

The Head of Service clarified that Public Service Rule 120243 only requires retiring officers to:

- Give three months’ notice before their retirement date,

- Attend a one-month pre-retirement workshop or seminar,

- Use the remaining period to regularise their service records and pension documentation.

“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 emphasised.

Walson-Jack stressed that retiring officers remain full public servants during the notice period and are expected to continue performing their duties, except when attending approved pre-retirement programmes or when 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,” it added.

The directive instructs all MDAs to ensure retiring officers continue to discharge their responsibilities until their official retirement dates, while completing necessary pension and documentation processes.

Permanent secretaries, directors-general, and chief executives have been asked to disseminate the circular and ensure strict compliance across their organisations.

The clarification is expected to affect thousands of federal civil servants who retire annually upon attaining 60 years of age or completing 35 years of service, whichever comes first.

For decades, many government institutions had interpreted the retirement notice period as compulsory leave, allowing officers to stop reporting for duty once they submitted their retirement letters. This practice often resulted in the early loss of experienced manpower.

The new directive aims to standardise the implementation of the Public Service Rules, prevent unnecessary manpower shortages, and improve service delivery by keeping retiring officers active until their exit dates while finalising their pension processes.