The Senate has passed the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board Bill, a major step toward improving the welfare of police officers by removing the Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme. The bill will create a fully independent board responsible for managing pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits for all police personnel.
BizWatch had earlier reported that the bill was gaining strong support from serving and retired officers who wanted the Police to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme due to delays and complaints about poor benefits under the current system.
The legislation, which came from the House of Representatives for concurrence, scaled third reading on Wednesday after the Senate considered it clause by clause. With this passage, the Police will join other security agencies such as the Military and Intelligence Services, which run their own pension systems under a Defined Benefit Scheme.
The bill seeks to achieve two key goals. The first is the establishment of an independent Police Pension Board that will take full control of pension administration for all NPF personnel. The second is the formal exemption of the Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme by amending sections of the Pension Reform Act of 2014.
The new pension structure is expected to boost morale among serving officers by giving them clearer, more reliable retirement benefits. It will also address the financial difficulties many police retirees have faced under the existing arrangement.
With the bill now passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, it is ready to be forwarded to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent.
