Abuja, Nov. 7, 2022. The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), says that its “I Am Alive” confirmation for pensioners will end tedious and expensive field verification.
The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, said this at the “I Am Alive” confirmation training programme organised for Pension Union Executives and Pension Desk Officers (PDOs) on Monday in Abuja.
Represented by Mr Sani Mustapha, PTAD’s Director of Corporate Services, Ejikeme said that only Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) pensioners who retired under the Defined Benefit Schemes (DBS) were eligible to participate.
According to her, the training is to ensure that the Union Executive and PDOs can use the I Am Alive Confirmation solution without difficulty.
Ejikeme said that it was to assist pensioners to understand how to use the application and respond to basic enquiries and questions about the confirmation process.
“The “I AM ALIVE” Confirmation Solution is the crucial step that we have to make in our journey to ensuring that all our esteemed pensioners, senior citizens who have served this country can enjoy their hard-earned pensions without the hardships of the past.
“The tedious, challenging and expensive field verification of the past must end.
“Pensioners must be able to confirm their aliveness from the comfort of their homes or at the very least, within close proximity to their residences.
“They should also be able to resolve their complaints without unnecessary stress,” she said.
Ejikeme said that the project and all others implemented by the directorate in the past, had been designed to make life easier for pensioners.
Ejikeme recalled that during the stakeholders’ engagement in 2021 and early 2022, she indicated PTAD’s intention to train its union executive members and PDOs on the use of the application.
“This is a critical step toward preparing our pensioners to be fully conversant with the use of the application.
“We believe that once the Union Executive members and PDOs can confidently use the application, they can support our efforts to educate our pensioners.
“They can also provide guidance and hand-holding where necessary for them to easily carry out their “I Am Alive” Confirmation,” Ejikeme said.
The executive secretary also said that in June, the organisation trained some executive and PDOs in the North-Central, North-Western, and the North-Eastern zones of the country.
“More so, we have invited the PDOs and Union Executive from the South-South, South-East and South-Western parts of the country.
“So that we can all be on the same page as regards the “I Am Alive” confirmation solution before the final rollout.
Speaking at the event, the Director, Pension Support Service Department (PSSD), Mrs Nneka Mbamalu, said that all verifications must be done by PTAD.
She advised pensioners never to share their personal information to avoid fraud.
“For this process, we only require Pension Verification Number and account number,” Mbamalu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that PTAD inaugurated the “I AM ALIVE” Confirmation Solution in October 2021.
It commenced the pilot phase with 50,000 pensioners randomly selected from the four operational departments in the Directorate.
