…cuts pension benefit approval time from 21 months to 48 hours
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced the payment of N8.7 billion in outstanding pension arrears to retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), alongside a 1,173 percent increase in their monthly pensions after 21 years without a review.
Omolola Oloworaran, director-general of PenCom, disclosed this at the commission’s 2026 Annual Media Conference on Tuesday in Abuja, saying the intervention was part of efforts to improve retirement security and address longstanding obligations to pensioners.
According to her, the review increased the combined monthly pensions of 2,116 NSITF retirees from N12.56 million to N159.95 million, following the invocation of relevant legal provisions to address benefits that had remained unchanged since 2005.
“Pension Boost 1.0 raised monthly pensions for more than 241,000 retirees. Total monthly pensions increased from 12.15 billion to 14.83 billion. For a retired teacher in Abuja, or a nurse in Gombe, that is not a statistic, it is food on the table.
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”A bill settled, a prescription filled. For the first time again in 21 years, pensioners of a defunct Nigeria social insurance trust fund have had their pensions reviewed. Their pensions have stood still since 2005.
”We invoked the law and directed a review. And that delivered an unprecedented increase of 1,173% increase for all retirees under NSITF Combined monthly pensions for 2,116 NSITF retirees rose from 12.56 million Naira to 159.95 million Naira.
“All arrears paid in full. Arrears totaling N8.7 billion, all paid in full,” Oloworaran said.
She illustrated the impact of the review with the case of a retiree whose monthly pension increased from N18,000 to N206,000, describing the payment as the end of more than two decades of waiting.
“Twenty-one years of waiting answered in a single, simple decision,” she said.
Beyond the NSITF intervention, Oloworaran said the Federal Government had approved a N758 billion intervention to settle inherited pension liabilities, with payments reaching 957,045 beneficiaries.
She said the liabilities, some of which had remained outstanding since 2007, had been carried across successive administrations before the current government moved to settle them.
The commission also announced improvements in pension administration, particularly the time required to approve retirement benefits.
Oloworaran said benefits that previously took as long as 21 months to approve were now processed within 48 hours, describing the timeline as a mandatory service standard for pension fund administrators rather than a target.
“From 21 months to 48 hours,” she said, adding that the commission expected pension operators to comply with the new standard.
She further disclosed that the Federal Government had introduced an exit benefit for eligible employees of treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies who had completed at least 10 years of qualifying service.
Under the arrangement, eligible retirees receive an additional payment equivalent to 100 percent of their total annual emoluments, alongside their normal pension benefits.
The first batch of 175 retirees received approximately N1.1 billion in August 2026, according to the PenCom director-general.
Oloworaran also said the commission’s Pension Boost 1.0 initiative had increased monthly pensions for more than 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
She said the total monthly pension payments to the beneficiaries rose from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion following the review.
The commission attributed the reforms to efforts to ensure that retirement benefits are paid more promptly and that pensioners receive improved financial support after leaving active service.
On compliance, Oloworaran warned employers against deducting pension contributions from workers’ salaries without remitting the funds to their retirement savings accounts.
“A deduction on a person that does not reach a retirement savings account is a breach of trust and a breach of the law. And I dare say, a criminal offence at that,” she said.
She disclosed that cumulative recoveries from defaulting employers had reached N36.6 billion as of July 2026, adding that recoveries in the current year had already exceeded the previous year’s record.
The commission also reported growth in pension industry assets, which rose from N20.7 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in June 2026, representing an increase of more than N10.7 trillion.
Oloworaran said 938,229 Nigerians joined the Contributory Pension Scheme during the period, while the commission continued to pursue reforms aimed at improving investment returns and expanding pension coverage.
She added that PenCom planned to launch a healthcare programme for 30,000 low-income retirees during the forthcoming National Pension Week, with the intention of expanding access to eligible retirees in subsequent phases.
The commission also plans to operationalise a minimum pension guarantee for eligible retirees under the pension scheme, a measure Oloworaran said would strengthen protection for pensioners with limited retirement savings.
She said the reforms were intended to address longstanding weaknesses in pension administration while ensuring that workers and retirees receive the benefits due to them.
“The work is not finished. Coverage must widen. Compliance must deepen. Benefits must grow more adequately,” she said.
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