The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate says 50,000 pensioners will be enrolled in its pilot online verification scheme tagged ‘I Am Alive’ confirmation project.
Speaking at the official launch of the project on Tuesday in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejimeme said: the ‘I Am Alive’ Confirmation Solution is a web-based software designed to enable pensioners, to easily confirm their aliveness from the comfort of their homes or neighbourhood, using either a smartphone or a computer system.
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“The directorate has decided to deploy the application in phases, starting with 50,000 pensioners, which cut across the four operational departments and the six geo-political zones, selected to participate in this pilot phase.
PTAD stated that the solution takes the pensioner through a three-step confirmation process that ends with a text message response.
The confirmation process begins with the pensioner’s number, account number and a photo that will validate the existing picture in the PTAD database.
Ejimeme said, “You may recall that during the course of the last field verification exercise, I assured all and sundry that the field verification exercise conducted in November 2019 would be the last time PTAD will call out pensioners for field verification.
“Pensioners who are part of this pilot phase have been notified by PTAD via SMS. Pensioners who did not receive the SMS should kindly note that they are not part of the pilot phase, and would not be able to gain access to the platform to confirm their aliveness at this time.
“All pensioners will be duly informed when the application is deployed on a full scale and is available for all pensioners.
“Be rest assured that nobody can tamper with your pension payment through the ‘I Am Alive’ platform. If somebody with a smartphone or computer system in your neighbourhood helps you to confirm your aliveness, the person cannot steal your money.
“All we need is a confirmation that you are still alive so that we can continue to pay your pension,” she further stated.
