The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says the federal government has cleared its backlog of accrued pension rights for federal employees, with payments now 41 months ahead of schedule.
Omolola Oloworaran, director-general (DG) of PenCom, announced on Wednesday at the Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria Conference in Abuja.
Oloworaran, represented by Ibrahim Buwai, head of corporate communications, said the federal government employees who have enrolled under the contributory pension scheme (CPS) have had their accrued pension rights paid up to December 2029.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
The DG also said delays in processing retirement benefits had largely been eliminated, with pension 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.
She said the development was part of efforts to strengthen the pension system and improve retirees’ access to their benefits.
Oloworaran also said PensionCare initiative would help reduce the burden of medical expenses on retirees by providing healthcare support and allowing pensioners to preserve more of their monthly income for other needs.
She said the scheme had been designed to operate sustainably and would be funded by pension fund operators, with donor support expected to complement the funding.
The DG also said the minimum pension guarantee scheme, provided for under the pension reform framework since 2004, had commenced after years of delay due to funding constraints.
She said retirees receiving below the approved minimum would have their pensions adjusted to the new threshold.
Also, Tolulope Odunaiya, executive secretary of the pension transitional arrangement directorate (PTAD), represented by Olugbenga Ajayi, head of corporate communications, said the directorate had introduced remote verification and enhanced life-status checks for pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme.
“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.
Odunaiya also said registration had commenced for PTAD’s proposed health insurance programme ahead of its formal launch.
AWABAH CUTS PERSONAL PENSION ENROLMENT REQUIREMENTS FROM 25 TO FOUR
Tunji Andrews, chief executive officer (CEO) of Awabah, a pension fintech firm, said the company had reduced the number of fields required to enrol in its personal pension plan from 25 to four.
He said the simplified process would allow more informal-sector workers to enrol and contribute through point-of-sale terminals operated in partnership with Moniepoint and Interswitch.
“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,” Andrews said.
Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, chief executive officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), represented by Olajumoke Akinwa, called for greater investment of pension assets in infrastructure, housing, energy and other productive sectors.
“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.
Godwin Abumisi, national president of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, represented by Ahmad Ibrahim-Gazali, called for the extension of the new exit benefits to retirees who left service between 2004 and December 2025.
He said N12.3 billion had been released for the exit-benefit programme.
Nana Musa, president of the Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria, urged journalists to strengthen public understanding of pension reforms through accurate and responsible reporting.
