FG pays N758bn pension debt, says PenCom

Orisemeke Benjamin

The Federal Government has paid N758 billion to clear legacy pension liabilities owed to nearly one million beneficiaries, some outstanding since 2007, while raising total monthly pensions for over 241,000 retirees from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has said.

Oloworaran spoke at the PenCan conference in Abuja themed “From Reform to Reality: Renewal, Pension Security for Nigerians.” 

She said the N758 billion intervention reached 957,045 beneficiaries.

“Not a promise made, but a debt paid,” she said, adding that the obligations had passed “from one administration to the next” before the current government settled them.

For pensioners of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), whose pensions had not been reviewed since 2005, she said the review delivered a 1,173 per cent increase for 2,116 retirees. Arrears of N8.7 billion were paid in full. One retiree who received N18,000 monthly now receives N206,000, she said.

The PenCom boss said accrued pension rights have been credited to enrolled federal employees due to retire up to December 2029, so retirees now receive pensions as they exit service. 

She urged all eligible employees and ministries, departments and agencies to complete enrolment before the exercise closes in December 2026.

Oloworaran said processing of retirement benefits, which once took up to 21 months, now takes 48 hours. 

“From 21 months to 48 hours,” she said, describing it as a mandatory standard binding on every pension fund administrator.

She also said that since January 1, 2026, eligible employees of treasury-funded entities with at least 10 years of service receive an exit benefit on top of their pension, equal to 100 per cent of their annual total. A first batch of 175 retirees received about N1.1 billion in August.

On the industry’s growth, she said pension assets rose from N20.7 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in June 2026, a gain of about N10.7 trillion. In the same period, 938,229 Nigerians joined the Contributory Pension Scheme.

She said recoveries from defaulting employers hit a record last year and had already surpassed it, reaching N36.6 billion as of July 2026. “We will find what is owed. We will recover it,” she said.

“A deduction on a pension that does not reach a retirement savings account is a breach of trust and a breach of the law,” she told employers, calling it a criminal offence.

The Pension Industry Leadership Council, she said, approved a $250 million pension industry infrastructure investment, with $200 million from pension fund operators. 

The Council also approved an independent maturity assessment of the industry and is developing a Pension Transformation Agenda 2030.

She announced two commitments for National Pension Week, which runs from October 26 to 30. The first is a Medicare programme giving low-income retirees free essential healthcare, starting with 30,000 retirees and expanding next year. The second is the minimum pension guarantee, provided for in the pension law since 2014, which takes effect this month.

Oloworaran said she now believes President Bola Tinubu is the most pro-worker and pro-retiree president Nigeria has had.

Urging journalists to keep scrutinising the sector, she said: “Always hold us accountable.”