The Federal Government has ordered all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to immediately halt the practice of sending civil servants on a mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, disclosed this in a circular issued by the addressed to top government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of agencies and other senior public sector administrators.
Head of Service Clarifies Public Service Rules 2026
Addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, and heads of agencies, the document targets widespread administration errors.
In the circular titled “Correct Interpretation of Public Service Rule 120243 on Pre-Retirement Activities,” the Head of Service noted that numerous MDAs have regularly misread the mandatory retirement notice period. This error led to the premature withdrawal of experienced officers from active service.
According to Walson-Jack, the framework only requires officers to give a three-month notice before their exit date, attend a brief workshop, and utilize the remaining time to complete complex pension documentation procedures.
“The so-called ‘mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave’ has no basis in the Public Service Rules,” Walson-Jack stated.
Managing Pension Documentation Procedures at Work
The circular explains that Rule 120243 establishes three distinct requirements: a notice obligation, attendance at a pre-retirement seminar during the first month, and the completion of retirement-related documentation during the final 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 entire notice window. They must continue performing their official daily duties unless they are attending approved workshops or have taken regular annual leave.
“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.
Why FG Scraps Pre-Retirement Leave Privileges
Consequently, all MDAs have been directed to stop compelling retiring officers to vacate their posts early. Under the new directive, ministries must ensure that staff continue to discharge their daily responsibilities while completing their service record reconciliations.
For decades, many institutions interpreted the notice period as an extended holiday, telling officers to stop reporting for duty once their papers were filed. In practice, thousands of workers spent these months away from their desks while awaiting retirement processing.
By ensuring the workforce stays active until their official exit dates, the government aims to prevent sudden manpower shortages. This administrative shake-up will affect thousands of federal civil servants approaching the structural milestones of 60 years of age or 35 years of service.
