BY NGOZI ONYEAKUSI

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, has disclosed that pensions of 2,116 retirees of  Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) were increased by an average of 1,173 per cent, ending 21 years of stagnant pension payments.

Speaking at the 2026 annual media conference today in Lagos, Oloworaran said the review raised the combined monthly pensions of the affected NSITF retirees from N12.6 million to N159.95 million, while N8.7 billion in pension arrears was paid in full.

According to her, the NSITF pensions had remained unchanged since 2005 until the Federal Government invoked the relevant law to undertake a comprehensive review.
Giving an example of the impact of the review, the PenCom DG said a retiree who previously received about N18,000 monthly now receives N206,000.

She disclosed this while highlighting major developments in Nigeria’s pension sector under the theme, “From Reform to Reality: Renewal of Pension Security for Nigerians.”
Oloworaran also disclosed that more than 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme benefited from the first phase of a pension increase, with total monthly pension payments rising from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.

The PenCom DG further said the Federal Government had introduced a zero-waiting-time policy under which federal retirees would begin receiving their pensions as they retire, in line with the monthly salary cycle.

She said retirement benefits that previously took up to 21 months to accrue are now processed within 48 hours for federal government workers with accrued rights.
On the private sector, Oloworaran said the approval period for retirement benefits had also been reduced from as much as two weeks to 48 hours.

She added that, through a one-time verification and enrollment exercise, accrued pension rights had been credited to the Retirement Savings Accounts of enrolled federal employees due to retire up to December 2029.

Oloworaran, however, said work would continue until all outstanding accrued rights owed to government workers were fully settled.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has cleared N758 billion in inherited pension liabilities, with payments reaching 957,045 beneficiaries.

Oloworaran said the liabilities, some dating back to 2007, had been carried from one administration to another until the intervention.

According to her, the N758 billion Federal Government-owned intervention has impacted 957,045 beneficiaries, bringing relief to nearly one million Nigerians.

She also disclosed that Nigeria’s Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies now have an exit benefit scheme, which commenced on January 21, 2026.
The PenCom DG said the various measures demonstrate a shift from pension reform policies to actual delivery of retirement benefits and improved pension security for Nigerians.