FG clears 21-Month Pension arrears, pays Federal Workers’ accrued rights up to December 2029 — PenCom

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced that the Federal Government has cleared the accrued pension rights of enrolled federal employees up to December 2029, moving from a 21-month funding backlog to a surplus of 41 months.

PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering her keynote address at the 2026 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PenCAN) Conference in Abuja.

Oloworaran, who was represented by the commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, said the development marked a significant improvement in the funding of accrued pension rights for federal workers yet to retire.

She explained that the government had previously been 21 months behind in funding the pension rights but had now built a 41-month surplus, meaning that the accrued rights of enrolled federal employees had been 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. 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 PenCom boss also said delays in the payment of retirement benefits had largely been addressed, claiming that pension payments were now processed within a maximum of 48 hours after 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 stated.

Oloworaran also highlighted the launch of the PenCare health insurance programme and the N52,500 minimum pension guarantee by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

According to her, PenCare is designed to reduce retirees’ medical expenses and enable them to spend more of their monthly pensions on other necessities.

She said the programme was being funded by pension operators and PenCom, with 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 monthly pensions fall below N52,500 would have their payments increased to the guaranteed amount.

She added that some beneficiaries received payment alerts during the programme’s launch on Tuesday.

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, with effect from January 1, 2026.

“The Federal Government has just approved the payment of 100 per cent of terminal emoluments as additional exit benefits,” she said, adding that eligible retirees who submitted the required documents had received their payments.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Tolulope Odunaiya, represented by the agency’s Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, said the directorate had introduced remote verification and improved life-status checks for pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme.

She said the initiative, described as “verification without borders”, would enable pensioners living in different parts of the world, including the United States and Uganda, as well as those in rural communities in Nigeria, to complete their verification remotely.

Odunaiya also disclosed that registration had commenced for PTAD’s proposed health insurance programme ahead of its formal launch.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, represented by Olajumoke Akinwa, called for the responsible investment of pension assets in infrastructure, housing, energy and other productive sectors.

She said pension funds could support Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1tn economy if properly channelled into productive investments while safeguarding contributors’ retirement benefits.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Awabah, Tunji Andrews, said the requirements for enrolling in the Personal Pension Plan had been reduced from 25 fields to four.

He explained that the change was aimed at making registration easier for Nigerians in the informal sector, adding that the company had introduced pension onboarding and contribution payments through Point of Sale terminals in partnership with Moniepoint and Interswitch.

Andrews also announced the launch of an initiative called Pension Oga, which would deploy agents to markets and communities to register informal workers, collect contributions and educate Nigerians on the importance of pension savings.

He called for increased public awareness to encourage more participation in the Personal Pension Plan.

The Acting Managing Director of NPF Pensions Limited, Mohammed Dutse, represented by Chukwuma Ohaka, commended improvements in pension administration, particularly efforts to improve the welfare of retired police officers.

A representative of Citizens Pension Limited, Khayran-Yunusa Aliu, also called for greater financial inclusion through increased participation in the micro-pension scheme.

However, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi, represented by Ahmad Ibrahim-Gazali, called on the Federal Government to extend the newly approved exit benefits to workers who retired between 2004 and December 2025.

Abumisi also disclosed that N12.3bn had been released for the exit-benefit programme.

Earlier, PenCAN President, Nana Musa, urged journalists to promote accountability and improve public understanding of pension reforms through accurate and responsible reporting.

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