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The Federal Government has cleared a 21-month backlog in the funding of accrued pension rights for enrolled federal employees, moving to a 41-month funding surplus that covers eligible workers up to December 2029. The National Pension Commission (PenCom) also says pension payment delays have largely been addressed, with retirement benefits now processed within a maximum of 48 hours.
PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed the developments on Wednesday during her keynote address at the 2026 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria Conference in Abuja. She was represented by the commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai.
Federal Government moves from pension arrears to 41-month surplus
Oloworaran said the government had moved from a position where accrued pension rights were 21 months in arrears to one in which funding had advanced by 41 months.
“We are moving from a position where we had, where our full pension rights were 21 months in arrears, to where we are today, 41 months in surplus. And 41 months in surplus means that Federal Government employees who have not yet retired and who have enrolled have had their accrued pension rights paid up to December 2029,” she said.
The development means accrued pension rights for the affected federal employees have been funded ahead of their retirement, addressing a backlog that had previously left the government behind on its pension obligations.
The PenCom chief also said delays in the payment of retirement benefits had largely become a thing of the past, with payments now processed within 48 hours of retirement.
“The issue of delays of payment of pension has now become history, and now pensions are being paid within a maximum of 48 hours from retirement,” she said.
PenCare and N52,500 minimum pension guarantee introduced
Oloworaran highlighted two pension welfare initiatives launched by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday: the PenCare health insurance programme and the N52,500 minimum pension guarantee.
She said PenCare was designed to reduce retirees’ out-of-pocket medical expenses, allowing them to use a greater share of their monthly pension income for other needs.
According to her, the programme is funded by pension operators and PenCom. It will be overseen by an independent board of trustees chaired by the commission’s pioneer Director-General, Muhammad Ahmad.
On the minimum pension guarantee, Oloworaran explained that eligible retirees whose pensions fall below N52,500 would have their payments increased to the guaranteed level. She added that some beneficiaries had already received payment alerts during the programme’s launch.
The initiatives form part of the commission’s efforts to improve retirement security and address the financial and healthcare needs of pensioners.
FG approves additional exit benefits for eligible retirees
The PenCom Director-General further disclosed that the Federal Government had approved additional exit benefits equivalent to 100 per cent of terminal emoluments for eligible retirees, effective from 1 January 2026.
“The Federal Government has just approved the payment of 100 per cent of terminal emoluments as additional exit benefits,” she said.
Oloworaran added that eligible employees retiring in 2026 who had submitted the required documents had received their payments.
However, the announcement also drew attention to the question of whether the new benefits would cover people who retired before the policy’s effective date. The National President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi, represented by Ahmad Ibrahim-Gazali, called for the extension of the additional exit benefits to retirees who left service between 2004 and December 2025.
PTAD introduces remote pensioner verification
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Tolulope Odunaiya, also outlined measures to improve pension administration for retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme.
Represented by the directorate’s Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, Odunaiya said PTAD had introduced remote verification and strengthened life-status checks to make the process more accessible to pensioners.
“With the new initiative of this verification without borders, pensioners in the US, in Uganda, in our villages can as well do their verification,” she said.
The remote verification system is intended to allow pensioners to complete required checks without having to travel to designated locations, including those living outside Nigeria.
Odunaiya also disclosed that registration had commenced for PTAD’s proposed health insurance programme, ahead of its formal launch.
Pension operators urged to channel funds into productive sectors
The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, represented by Olajumoke Akinwa, called for responsible investment of pension assets in sectors that could support Nigeria’s economic development.
She identified infrastructure, housing, energy and other productive sectors as areas where pension funds could contribute to the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
“Properly channelled into infrastructure, housing, energy, and productive sectors, these funds can help finance the growth we seek, while still protecting the retirement benefits of contributors,” she said.
Her remarks underscored the need to balance investment opportunities with the responsibility of safeguarding pension contributions and ensuring that funds remain available to meet retirees’ entitlements.
Awabah simplifies informal sector pension enrolment
Efforts to expand pension coverage among informal sector workers also featured at the conference, with the Chief Executive Officer of Awabah, Tunji Andrews, announcing changes to the registration process for personal pension accounts.
Andrews said the number of fields required for personal pension enrolment had been reduced from 25 to four, making it easier for Nigerians in the informal economy to register and begin contributing.
“As of today, those fields have been reduced to four fields only. Because of that innovation, we’ve been able to put onboarding and payments for PPP on POS terminals,” he said.
He explained that the initiative enables onboarding and contribution payments through Point of Sale terminals in partnership with Moniepoint and Interswitch.
Andrews also announced the launch of Pension Oga, an initiative that will deploy agents to markets and communities to register informal workers, collect contributions and educate people about pension savings.
He called for stronger public awareness to encourage more Nigerians in the informal sector to participate in the Personal Pension Plan (PPP).
Industry stakeholders call for wider pension coverage
Other industry representatives at the conference highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen pension administration and extend coverage to more Nigerians.
The acting Managing Director of NPF Pensions Limited, Mohammed Dutse, represented by Chukwuma Ohaka, commended improvements in pension administration, particularly initiatives aimed at strengthening the welfare of retired police personnel.
Khayran-Yunusa Aliu, representing Citizens Pension Limited, also called for greater financial inclusion through expanded participation in the micro-pension scheme.
The discussions reflected a broader focus on improving pension payment processes, strengthening retiree welfare and bringing more workers into the contributory pension system. While the Federal Government’s reported funding surplus addresses a longstanding obligation to enrolled federal employees, wider participation and access to retirement savings remain important considerations for pension coverage across the country.
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