The Federal Government has cleared inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through a N758bn intervention bond, providing financial relief to 957,045 beneficiaries across the country.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this in her keynote address, titled ‘From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope, Pension Security for All Nigerians’, at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists, industry stakeholders and media practitioners, Oloworaran said the payment marked a significant step towards resolving pension arrears accumulated and delayed across successive administrations.
She said, “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.
“Every nation makes a promise to the people who build it—those who serve faithfully and diligently. When your working years are done, your country should not forget you. 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.”
The liquidation of the Federal Government’s legacy pension liabilities is part of a broader package of institutional reforms implemented under President Bola Tinubu.
Beyond clearing the backlog, PenCom disclosed that accrued pension rights for federal employees due to retire by December 2029 have been credited directly to their Retirement Savings Accounts ahead of schedule.
The commission said the payments followed a comprehensive, one-time verification and enrolment exercise aimed at ensuring eligible workers receive their pension entitlements.
The commission also introduced a Zero Waiting Time Policy to align retirement benefit payments with monthly public service salary cycles, allowing workers to transition into retirement without financial gaps.
It added that the turnaround time for processing retirement benefits had been reduced significantly, from as long as 21 months to just 48 hours.
Oloworaran noted, “PFAs, I believe, understand the need for awareness. And there’s a plan; as part of the initiatives being worked on by the Pension Industry Council, we do have a stakeholder management and advocacy committee. And they’ve come up with a calendar of activities in terms of how to engage Nigerians and ensure pension literacy as well as pension awareness.
“If you listened earlier on, part of what will also be happening during the Pension Week is also awareness, adequacy, state visits, and engagement. I know that we need to do a whole lot around that, and the pension industry is working to ensure that they can reach, if not every Nigerian, at least most Nigerians. So, work is ongoing in that regard. We do have a lot to do, and we recognise that, both at the industry level and also in PenCom as well.”
She added, “We are engaging states. We are engaging states on various levels. Number one: get onboarded onto the Contributory Pension Scheme.
“And then, number two: the conversation we are having with people who are now part of the scheme is the question of adequacy, on how we can benchmark what is being paid to retirees so that, you know, when we have inflation, there can be a balance. So, we want to see increments that match inflation or at least compensate for inflation. So, we are having two conversations, like I said: one, get onto the CPS; and two, on adequacy.”
The conference also highlighted significant increases in pension payments under existing schemes, particularly following a directive to review benefits for retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
The 21-year review resulted in an average 1,173 per cent increase in payments for 2,116 NSITF retirees, while N8.7bn in outstanding arrears was also settled.
In addition, the implementation of Pension Boost 1.0 increased monthly payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme from N12.15bn to N14.83bn, raising the monthly benefits received by more than 241,000 retirees nationwide.
The commission also announced new welfare initiatives aimed at strengthening support for retirees, including the PenCare free healthcare programme, which will initially target 30,000 low-income retirees.
Other planned measures include the implementation of a statutory Minimum Pension Guarantee and the expansion of the Micro Pension Plan to informal sector traders and artisans through a nationwide network of agents.
