No fewer than 30,000 serving and retired police officers have enrolled on a newly launched digital pension platform introduced by the Nigeria Police Force Pension Fund to provide easier access to pension information and services.

The Acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Police Force Pension Fund, Mr. Mohammed Dutse, disclosed this on Wednesday during the launch of the dedicated pension WhatsApp platform for serving and retired police personnel.

Dutse said the digital platform was introduced to bridge the gap between the pension administrator and police officers spread across different parts of the country, many of whom often face difficulties accessing pension-related services.

According to him, the platform functions as an interactive virtual assistant that operates across several digital channels, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.

He explained that the initiative was developed to enable police personnel obtain pension information and carry out basic transactions without travelling long distances or visiting offices physically.

“Our clients are spread all over the country. Virtually every nook and cranny of this country has police officers. Delivering services to all these locations has always been challenging, so we decided to take the services directly to them through digital channels,” he said.

Dutse revealed that nearly 30,000 officers had already registered on the platform before its official launch, describing the response as encouraging.

“I’m glad that even before commissioning it, almost 30,000 policemen had already enrolled on the platform. We believe this number will continue to grow significantly,” he said.

He added that the ultimate target is to have all serving and retired police officers across the country enrolled within the next two to three months.

According to him, the platform operates round the clock, allowing users to access services at any time of the day without waiting for office hours.

“It works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our customers do not have to wait until daybreak before accessing services. The goal is to make pension services available at their fingertips,” he stated.

Dutse said feedback received from early users had been largely positive, noting that many officers were surprised by the ease with which they could access pension information through the system.

He disclosed that the platform offers close to 20 features designed to improve customer experience and simplify access to pension records.

Among the services available are instant checking of Retirement Savings Account balances, downloading RSA statements, monitoring fund performance, viewing daily unit prices and accessing personal biodata records.

He noted that while users can request updates to their records, changes are subject to strict verification procedures in line with Nigeria’s data protection regulations.

“Data protection requires the consent of the owner before changes can be made. There is room for clients to submit requests, but these must be reviewed before approval,” he explained.

Dutse also assured users that strong security measures had been built into the platform to prevent unauthorised access and protect sensitive customer information.

According to him, non-customers can only access general information, while confidential records remain protected by multiple layers of security.

“If you are not our customer, you can only obtain basic information. You cannot access details relating to any client. The system has safeguards that prevent unauthorised access,” he said.

On the sustainability of the platform, Dutse said adequate financial resources had been committed to ensure uninterrupted operations.

He explained that annual subscriptions and maintenance costs had already been budgeted for to guarantee continuous service delivery and future upgrades.

Beyond the digital platform, Dutse drew attention to concerns over the adequacy of pension contributions under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

He explained that when the pension system was introduced, both employers and employees contributed 7.5 per cent of salary each. However, subsequent reviews showed that the contribution level was insufficient to provide adequate retirement benefits.

According to him, the Pension Reform Act was amended in 2014 to increase contributions to 10 per cent from employers and eight per cent from employees, but growing economic realities have continued to put pressure on retirees’ incomes.

He disclosed that the National Pension Commission has proposed a further increase in employer contributions for police personnel from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, while employees would continue contributing eight per cent.

The proposal, he said, has been forwarded to President Bola Tinubu as part of ongoing efforts to improve retirement benefits for police officers.

“With a total contribution rate of 28 per cent, we believe that within five to seven years, police officers will accumulate enough savings in their RSA accounts to adequately support their retirement needs without depending on government intervention,” he said.

Dutse acknowledged that concerns over low pension benefits are not limited to police personnel, noting that workers across the public sector have expressed similar concerns.

He said the ongoing review of the Pension Reform Act is expected to provide solutions that will strengthen retirement income security for workers and improve the overall effectiveness of the pension system.

According to him, the government is exploring measures that would allow retirees to receive more sustainable retirement benefits while maintaining the principles of the contributory pension scheme.

(The Nation)