The House of Representatives has passed a Bill seeking to remove personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), setting the stage for a distinct pension system dedicated exclusively to police officers.
The proposed legislation, titled A Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board, is designed to create a more effective and transparent framework for managing the pensions and gratuities of serving and retired police personnel.
Under the new arrangement, police officers will be exempted from the Pension Reform Act’s contributory scheme and will instead be entitled to 85 per cent of their total emoluments as pension. The move aims to ensure timely and equitable payment of benefits to all retired members of the Force.
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The Bill, which now awaits the Senate’s concurrence before transmission to the President for assent, also seeks to amend Section 5(1a) of the Pension Reform Act, 2014, to include the Nigeria Police Force among the groups already excluded from the scheme—alongside members of the Armed Forces and intelligence services.
Once signed into law, the legislation will establish the Nigeria Police Pension Board, to be headed by a Director-General—a serving officer not below the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG)—and a Secretary, who must be a senior police officer and a lawyer with at least ten years of post-call experience.
The new board will assume full responsibility for administering and paying pensions and gratuities to retired officers, taking over these functions from the National Pension Commission (PenCom). It will also oversee the disbursement of compassionate gratuities, death benefits, and other entitlements to the next of kin of deceased officers.
According to Section 14, “There shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, all such sums of money as may be granted by the Federal Government by way of pension and gratuity in accordance with this Bill.”
Section 15 outlines eligibility criteria, stating that no officer shall receive pension or gratuity unless they have served 35 years or reached the age of 60, whichever comes first. It also provides benefits in cases of voluntary retirement after ten years, compulsory retirement, or medical incapacity.
The law further provides under Section 17 that a pension granted under this Bill shall not be less than 85 per cent of total emoluments, while additional pensions granted due to injuries shall not exceed 100 per cent of the highest pensionable emoluments during service.
Section 19 stipulates that if a retired officer dies within five years of retirement, the next of kin shall continue receiving the same pension for the remainder of that period.
Section 21 also protects pensions and gratuities from seizure or transfer, except for debts owed to the Federal Government or court-ordered payments.
The passage of the Bill marks a major milestone in addressing the long-standing concerns of police officers over inadequate pension management under the current contributory system.