Commission says payments rose from ₦12.56m to ₦159.95m monthly after a review of benefits that had remained unchanged for 21 years, while ₦8.7bn in arrears has been settled…..
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has increased the combined monthly pensions of 2,116 retirees of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) by 1,173 per cent, following a review of benefits that had remained unchanged for 21 years.
The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday at the commission’s 2026 Central Media Conference in Abuja, where she outlined recent interventions to improve retirement benefits and address outstanding pension liabilities.
According to her, the retirees’ combined monthly payments rose from ₦12.56 million to ₦159.95 million following the review.
Oloworaran said the commission invoked its statutory powers to secure the adjustment, bringing relief to pensioners who had waited more than two decades for an increase in their benefits.
She cited the case of one retiree whose monthly pension increased from ₦18,000 to ₦206,000.
“21 years of waiting answered in a single, simple decision,” the PenCom chief said.
She added that ₦8.7 billion in outstanding pension arrears had been paid in full as part of efforts to resolve longstanding obligations to retirees.
Oloworaran also disclosed that the Federal Government had approved a ₦758 billion intervention fund to settle inherited pension liabilities, some of which had remained unpaid since 2007.
She said 957,045 beneficiaries had received payments under the intervention programme.
“These obligations have passed from one administration to the next. This administration chose to close it,” she said.
The commission’s chief further said the processing of retirement benefits had improved significantly, with approvals that previously took as long as 21 months now being completed within 48 hours.
Under the Pension Boost 1.0 initiative, she said monthly pensions for more than 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme had also been increased.
Their combined monthly payments rose from ₦12.15 billion to ₦14.83 billion, according to the commission.
Oloworaran highlighted another intervention designed to provide additional financial support for eligible employees of treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies who have completed at least 10 years of qualifying service.
She said the exit-benefit arrangement provides eligible retirees with an additional payment equivalent to 100 per cent of their annual total emoluments, separate from their normal pension benefits.
Oloworaran noted that beneficiaries had begun receiving payments under the scheme, which applies to eligible employees who retired from January 1, 2026.
The first batch of 175 retirees received approximately ₦1.1 billion under the arrangement in August, she disclosed.
The PenCom director-general also announced that a minimum pension guarantee was expected to take effect in October, providing a minimum benefit for eligible retirees under the pension system.
Beyond pension payments, she said the industry’s total assets had grown from ₦20.7 trillion in July 2024 to ₦31.48 trillion in June 2026, representing an increase of more than ₦10.7 trillion.
The contributory pension scheme also recorded 938,229 additional enrollees over the period, reflecting continued growth in participation.
Oloworaran added that the commission had recovered ₦36.6 billion from employers that defaulted on pension contributions as of July 2026.
To extend retirement savings to more Nigerians, PenCom is also expanding pension coverage through accredited agents who promote personal pension plans among traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other participants in the informal sector.
The initiatives form part of the commission’s broader efforts to address outstanding pension obligations, improve the administration of retirement benefits and extend pension coverage beyond the formal workforce.
