The Federal Government has cleared inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through a N758bn intervention bond, benefiting 957,045 pensioners across the country.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos, describing the payment as an end to decades of delayed pension obligations inherited across successive administrations.
Oloworaran said accrued pension rights for federal employees scheduled to retire up to December 2029 had also been credited to their Retirement Savings Accounts ahead of time following a one-time verification and enrolment exercise.
To prevent future delays, PenCom introduced a Zero Waiting Time Policy to align retirement payments with monthly public service salary cycles. The commission said pension benefit processing times had also been reduced from as long as 21 months to 48 hours.
The commission also announced an average 1,173 per cent increase in payments for 2,116 retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, alongside the settlement of N8.7bn in arrears. Pension Boost 1.0 also raised monthly payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme from N12.15bn to N14.83bn for more than 241,000 retirees.
PenCom Director of Personal Pension Plans, Dr Babatunde Alayande, said 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce, representing about 84.92 million workers, operates in the informal sector. However, only 242,690 people were enrolled in the Personal Pension Plan as of July 2026, leaving a 99.71 per cent coverage gap.
Oloworaran said PenCom would expand pension coverage and welfare initiatives through the PenCare healthcare programme for 30,000 low-income retirees, a Minimum Pension Guarantee and an expanded Micro Pension Plan. The commission is also engaging state governments to increase participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme and improve pension adequacy.
