The Military Pensions Board (MPB) has inaugurated its electronic verification system with 10,800 retirees, comprising 300 each from the 36 to be verified in the pilot phase.

The board chairman, AVM Paul Irumheson, made this known while addressing journalists on the inauguration of the Military Pensions Board Electronic Verification Management System on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Irumheson said the board had previously carried out physical verification of pensioners in designated locations across the country.

He said the aim was to ensure all home and abroad pensionable retirees were still alive and eligible for pension while promptly removing unqualified or deceased pensioners from the board’s payroll.

The chairman said that while the physical verification had helped the board to maintain a comprehensive and reliable database that facilitated accurate budget preparation and pension payments, it had become difficult due to certain factors.

According to him, the factors include the old age of pensioners, the high cost of transportation, the security risks associated with travelling by road and the financial burden of travelling down to Nigeria for pensioners residing abroad, among others.

“Therefore, to ease the process of future verification exercises and sustain the integrity of the pension database, the Military Pensions Board has developed a system for the electronic verification of pensioners.

“The system takes pensioners through multiple stages of a verification process that ends with the generation of a reference number, which is sent to pensioners via text message and email,” he said.

Mr Irumheson said the pensioners would be required to download the application from the Google Play Store (Android Phone users) or the AppStore (iPhone users) for verification.

According to him, they would open the application and agree to the attestation, adding that the pensioners would be required to input their bank and bank account number and check the terms and conditions box to gain access to the system.

He said the process required the National Identity Number (NIN) or driver’s licence for biodata verification. Also, the veterans must provide their phone number, email address and BVN for validation.

“Pensioners’ ATM card details and ATM card pin are not required for the confirmation process,” he added.

He reassured pensioners and the next-of-kin of deceased personnel that the board worked tirelessly to ensure their entitlements were always paid as and when due.

(NAN)