By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has reviewed the pensions of 2,116 retirees of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), raising their combined monthly payments by 1,173 percent – from N12.56 million to N159.95 million.
The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at the 2026 Central Media Conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
Oloworaran said the Commission invoked the law to secure the review after the pensions had remained unchanged for 21 years.
Citing a specific case, she said one retiree whose monthly pension was N18,000 now earns N206,000 following the review.
“21 years of waiting answered in a single, simple decision,” she said.
She added that N8.7 billion in arrears owed to the affected retirees has been paid in full.
The PenCom DG said the Federal Government has approved a N758 billion intervention fund to settle inherited pension liabilities, some of which had remained outstanding since 2007.
According to her, 957,045 beneficiaries have so far received payments under the intervention.
“These obligations have passed from one administration to the next. This administration chose to close it,” Oloworaran said.
She disclosed that retirement benefits which previously took up to 21 months to approve are now processed within 48 hours.
Oloworaran said under the Pension Boost 1.0 initiative, monthly pensions for more than 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) increased, with combined monthly payments rising from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.
She also announced the introduction of an exit-benefit arrangement for eligible employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with at least 10 years of qualifying service.
“For the first time again, Nigeria has an exit benefits bill. Since 1 January, 2026, eligible employees of treasury-funded MDAs with at least 10 years of qualifying service receive an additional benefit equal to 100 per cent of their total annual emolument on top of their normal pension,” she said.
“I’m proud to let you know that people have started receiving payments, and anyone who retired from January 1 of this year, they have been cashing in on this exit benefit of 100 per cent of their annual total emolument.”
She said the first batch of 175 retirees received approximately N1.1 billion under the arrangement in August.
The DG further disclosed that a minimum pension guarantee is expected to take effect in October, setting a minimum benefit for eligible retirees under the CPS.
She said pension assets grew from N20.7 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in June 2026, an increase of over N10.7 trillion, while 938,229 Nigerians joined the contributory pension scheme over the same period.
She added that recoveries from employers that defaulted on pension contributions reached N36.6 billion as of July 2026.
Oloworaran said the Commission is widening pension coverage through accredited agents who take personal pension plans to traders, artisans, farmers and transport workers in the informal sector.
