BY COBHAM NSA – The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says the Federal Government has cleared a massive ₦758 billion backlog in long-standing pension liabilities, delivering a historic lifeline to nearly one million retirees and beneficiaries in one of the most consequential and transformative pension reforms in the nation’s history
The Commission said this generational salvation has effectively reshaped the retirement landscape for about 957,045 senior citizens and their families nationwide.
Director-General of the Commission, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, who disclosed the decisive action taken under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the milestone breakthrough also marks the end of an era of broken promises and the beginning of long-awaited financial security for the nation’s senior citizens.
Addressing participants at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Abuja tagged, “From Reform To Reality, Renewed Hope, Pension Security for Nigerians”, Ms Oloworaran said for thousands of public sector retirees whose hard-earned entitlements were repeatedly ignored across successive administrations, the sweeping intervention finally ended their decades of agonizing financial uncertainty.
She hailed the unprecedented release of funds by the current administration, noting that the development finally restores dignity to senior citizens who have spent years waiting in limbo for their rightful benefits, especially in terms of accelerated payment of retirement packages and improved pension security for workers and retirees.
According to her, for the first time in 21 years, the pension benefits of about 2,116 retirees at the defunct Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) were reviewed upwards, and referenced a particular pensioner on N18, 000 monthly, who is now receiving about N206,000.
The PenCom boss said, “Twenty-one years of waiting was answered in a single decision”, adding that the government-backed bond intervention cleared pension obligations dating back to 2007 and nearly two decades of accumulated liabilities.
Also, she announced that over 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) had benefited from Pension Boost 1.0, the first across-the-board pension increase since the scheme was introduced 21 years ago.
The Director General said total monthly pension payments under the programme rose from ₦12.15 billion to ₦14.83 billion, while some pensioners recorded increases of up to 100 percent in their new welfare packages.
Ms Oloworaran said another landmark development is the upward review of pensions for retirees under the defunct NSITF for the first time since 2005, disclosing that the review produced an average increase of 1,173 percent, raising combined monthly pensions for 2,116 retirees from ₦12.56 million to ₦159.95 million.
Stating that about ₦8.7 billion in arrears have already been paid in full, she further said the Commission had introduced a “zero waiting time” policy designed to ensure federal workers promptly access their pension benefits immediately after retirement.
Also announcing the implementation of a new Exit Benefit Scheme in which eligible employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who have completed at least 10 years in service will receive an additional benefit equivalent to 100 per cent of their annual emoluments upon retirement, Oloworaran revealed that the first batch of 175 retirees have already received about ₦1.1 billion under the initiative.
Meanwhile, the Commission has announced plans for a $250 million pension-backed infrastructure investment initiative, with pension fund operators providing $200 million as anchor investments and an additional $50 million expected from development finance institutions.
The Director General said the plan would support national infrastructure development while protecting contributors’ funds through rigorous investment standards, maintaining that ongoing reforms have restored confidence in Nigeria’s pension system and ensured retirees receive benefits more promptly and predictably than in the past.
Pointedly, Oloworaran said: “We owe those who built this country the dignity to grow old in peace and those building it today the confidence that their labour will be honoured”.
