Pension fund assets in Nigeria rose by N10.7 trillion in two years, climbing from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in July 2026.
This is even as the Federal Government cleared inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 with a N758 billion intervention bond.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran disclosed this at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday.
The conference was themed: “From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope, Pension Security for Nigerians.”
It also featured the launch of PenCom Chronicles, the Commission’s inaugural corporate magazine; official announcement and launch of the National Pension Week website and the PenCom Excellence Awards for Journalism.
Oloworaran said the N10.7 trillion increase represented additional retirement wealth accumulated within the two-year period.
The DG added that, 938,229 Nigerians joined the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).within the same period, expanding the pool of formal retirement savings.
“Pension funds are diversifying, investing in Nigeria, investing in real assets, and building better retirement outcomes for contributors,” she said.
She disclosed that monthly pension payments for more than 241,000 retirees increased from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion following the implementation of pension adjustments.
In another major intervention, Oloworaran disclosed that, Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) now have an exit benefit scheme.
Under the scheme, which took effect from January 1, 2026, eligible employees with at least 10 years of qualifying service receive an additional benefit equivalent to 100 per cent of their total emolument, on top of their normal pension benefits.
She said the first 175 retirees had already received approximately N1.1 billion under the scheme. This is a full year’s pay as an additional benefit, she said, describing it as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to workers and retirees.
Oloworaran further revealed that PenCom had dramatically reduced the time required to process retirement benefits. According to her, retirement benefits that previously took as long as 21 months to approve are now processed within 48 hours for eligible Federal Government workers.
She added that private-sector retirement benefits, which previously took at least two weeks even under the fastest circumstances, are also now being approved within 48 hours.
Oloworaran announced two major initiatives aimed at strengthening retirement security.
The first is the PenCare Retiree Health Programme, which will provide eligible low-income retirees with access to essential healthcare at no cost, beginning with 30,000 retirees in its initial phase.
The second is the Minimum Pension Guarantee, which she said, would, for the first time, establish a floor below which eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme would not fall.
She said no Nigerian should retire into poverty and no Nigerian should retire into ill health.
Oloworaran urged eligible Federal Government employees and Ministries, Departments and Agencies to complete the ongoing verification and enrolment exercise before its December 2026 deadline.
She said approved pension rights had already been credited to the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of enrolled Federal employees due to retire up to December 2029.
The PenCom DG warned employers against deducting pension contributions from workers’ salaries without remitting the funds to their Retirement Savings Accounts.
On the backlog, Oloworaran emphasised that the payout marks a decisive end to decades of delayed benefits passed down across multiple political 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 actual fact.
The landmark liquidation of legacy federal pension debts represents one element of a broader suite of institutional reforms implemented under President Bola Tinubu.
Alongside clearing the backlog, PenCom revealed that accrued pension rights for federal employees scheduled to retire up to December 2029 have already been credited directly to their Retirement Savings Accounts ahead of time following a comprehensive one-time verification and enrolment drive.
Reinforcing the government’s stance on worker welfare, Oloworaran observed that the true measure of how a government values its workforce lies not only in how it treats its employees while in service, but in how faithfully it fulfils its pension obligations after retirement.
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