The Federal Government has cleared inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through a N758bn intervention bond, providing relief to 957,045 beneficiaries across the country.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope, Pension Security for All Nigerians,” Oloworaran said the payment had ended years of delays in settling inherited pension obligations.
She said the liabilities had passed through several administrations before the current government settled them.
“Every nation makes a promise to the people who build it. When your working years are done, your country should not forget you,” Oloworaran said.
She also disclosed that accrued pension rights for federal workers due to retire up to December 2029 had been credited to their Retirement Savings Accounts.
According to her, the credits followed a one-time verification and enrolment exercise.
PenCom Cuts Pension Processing Time
Oloworaran said PenCom had introduced a Zero Waiting Time Policy to prevent delays between retirement and the payment of benefits.
The policy is designed to align retirement payments with monthly public service salary cycles.
She added that pension benefit processing had been reduced from as long as 21 months to just 48 hours.
PenCom is also working with state governments to expand the Contributory Pension Scheme and improve pension adequacy.
Oloworaran said the commission wanted pension payments to keep pace with inflation and provide better financial security for retirees.
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Retirees Receive Higher Payments
The conference also highlighted recent increases in pension payments.
PenCom said a 21-year review of payments to retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund increased average monthly benefits by 1,173 per cent for 2,116 retirees.
The review also led to the payment of N8.7bn in outstanding arrears.
Under the Pension Boost 1.0 programme, monthly payments to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme increased from N12.15bn to N14.83bn.
The increase affects more than 241,000 retirees nationwide.
PenCom also announced plans for the PenCare healthcare programme, which will provide free medical support to 30,000 low-income retirees during its pilot phase.
The commission is also working to activate a statutory Minimum Pension Guarantee and expand the Micro Pension Plan.
PenCom Targets Informal Workers
PenCom Director of Personal Pension Plans, Dr Babatunde Alayande, said expanding pension coverage to informal workers remained a major challenge.
He said about 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce, or 84.92 million workers, operates in the informal sector.
Despite the sector’s contribution to the economy, only 242,690 people were enrolled in the Personal Pension Plan as of July 2026.
Alayande said this represents a coverage gap of 99.71 per cent.
The Personal Pension Plan allows self-employed workers, traders, artisans, farmers and gig workers to make flexible daily, weekly or monthly contributions.
Contributions can be made through USSD, mobile money or bank transfers.
PenCom accredited six pension agents in 2026 to help expand access and improve enrolment in underserved areas.
Alayande, however, warned that registration alone would not guarantee retirement security.
“Access does not automatically lead to active saving,” he said, stressing the need to build public confidence in the pension system.
PenCom said it would continue to promote pension coverage through multilingual awareness campaigns, simpler digital onboarding and products tailored to different groups, including women and workers seeking Sharia-compliant options.
