Police gradually exiting CPS as Officers to collect 85% of total emoluments as pension in new Bill

Police gradually exittibg CPS as Officers to collect 85% of total emoluments as pension in new Bill

The House of Representatives has approved a Bill that seeks to remove officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), paving the way for a dedicated pension system for police personnel.

The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to establish the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board,” aims to create a specialized pension structure that ensures effective management of pensions and gratuities for members of the Force.

Under the new law, police officers will be excluded from the Pension Reform Act’s CPS and will instead receive 85 per cent of their total emoluments as pension. The measure is designed to guarantee prompt and fair payment of retirement benefits to all NPF retirees.

The Bill, which now awaits concurrence by the Senate before being forwarded to the President for assent, also amends Section 5(1a) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 to include the Nigeria Police Force among categories already exempted—such as members of the Armed Forces and the intelligence and secret services.

Once enacted, the law will establish the Nigeria Police Pensions Board, headed by a Director-General—a serving police officer not below the rank of Assistant Inspector-General (AIG)—and a Secretary who must be a senior police officer and a legal practitioner with at least ten years of post-call experience.

The Board will take over the administration and payment of pensions and gratuities for retired police officers from the National Pension Commission (PenCom), ensuring that entitlements are adjusted in line with the new law. It will also manage the payment 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 allows 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 to a personnel under this Bill shall not be less than 85 per cent of his total emoluments,” adding that “an additional pension granted in respect of injuries shall not be taken into account, but where the personnel is granted such an additional pension under the Bill, the amount so granted, together with the remainder of his pension under this Bill shall not exceed 100 per cent of highest pensionable emoluments at any time in the course of his service.”

Section 19 stipulates that “where a personnel dies within five years after retirement, his next of kin shall continue to be paid for a period which shall expire at the end of five years from the date of his retirement, the same pension which the deceased personnel was receiving prior to his death.” The section also allows the next of kin to receive the balance of the deceased’s pension immediately upon election.

Finally, Section 21 states that “a pension or gratuity granted under this Bill shall not be assignable or transferable or liable to be attached, sequestrated or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatsoever except for the purpose of satisfying a debt due to the Federal Government or by an order of court for the payment for a periodic sum of money.”