FG clears N758bn pension arrears for 957,045 beneficiaries, PenCom confirms

The Federal Government has cleared all inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through a N758bn intervention bond, bringing relief to 957,045 beneficiaries nationwide. The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, announced the milestone at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos on Tuesday.

She delivered a keynote address titled 'From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope, Pension Security for All Nigerians' before journalists, industry leaders and media practitioners. Oloworaran said the payout ends decades of delayed benefits passed down across several administrations.

"The Federal Government cleared all inherited pension liabilities, some dating back to 2007. These obligations passed through multiple administrations, but this government chose to settle them. That is statesmanship, a debt paid, not just a promise," she said.

She added: "For too long, that promise was kept slowly, partially, or not at all. Today, I can report that this has changed, not in aspiration, but in fact."

Zero Waiting Time and faster payouts

PenCom said accrued pension rights for federal employees scheduled to retire up to December 2029 have already been credited directly to their Retirement Savings Accounts. The credit followed a one-time verification and enrolment drive.

To stop fresh backlogs, the commission introduced a Zero Waiting Time Policy that aligns retirement payouts with monthly public service salary cycles. Benefit processing turnaround has also dropped from up to 21 months to 48 hours.

On awareness, Oloworaran said the Pension Industry Council has set up a stakeholder management and advocacy committee with a calendar of activities. She said Pension Week will include state visits and engagement, adding: "We do have a lot to do, and we recognise that, both at the industry level and also in PenCom as well."

On the states, she said PenCom is pushing two conversations: getting states onboard the Contributory Pension Scheme, and benchmarking payments so increments match or compensate for inflation.

NSITF retirees get 1,173% average increase

The conference also reported gains across existing schemes. A 21-year review of payments for retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund delivered an average payout increase of 1,173 per cent for 2,116 NSITF retirees, alongside settlement of N8.7bn in full arrears.

Pension Boost 1.0 raised monthly disbursements under the Contributory Pension Scheme from N12.15bn to N14.83bn, lifting payouts for more than 241,000 retirees nationwide.

New welfare plans include PenCare, a free healthcare programme to pilot with 30,000 low-income retirees, a statutory Minimum Pension Guarantee baseline, and an expanded Micro Pension Plan targeting informal sector traders and artisans through a nationwide agent network.

Informal sector coverage gap at 99.71%

Dr Babatunde Alayande, Director of the Personal Pension Plans Department, said 93 per cent of the Nigerian workforce, roughly 84.92 million workers, operates in the informal sector. They contribute 58 to 65 per cent of GDP, yet fewer than three in every thousand are covered by a pension.

Only 242,690 workers were enrolled in the Personal Pension Plan as of July 2026, leaving a coverage gap of 99.71 per cent. Women are hit hardest, with 96 per cent of employed women working in the informal sector.

Alayande said the plan, established under Section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, offers flexible retirement savings for the self-employed, traders, artisans, farmers, gig workers, formal employees and foreign contributors.

For retirees, the cleared arrears put cash in the hands of nearly a million households. For the wider pension industry, the hard part remains the informal sector, where coverage is still under 1 per cent.