The Federal Government has cleared a 21-month backlog in accrued pension rights for eligible federal workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), moving from a funding deficit to a 41-month surplus extending through December 2029.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) disclosed this on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, during the 2026 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PENCAN) Conference in Abuja.
PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, who was represented by the commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, said the development marked a significant improvement in the funding of retirement entitlements for federal employees who transitioned from the former Defined Benefit Scheme to the CPS.
“We are moving from a position where our full pension rights were 21 months in arrears to where we are today, 41 months in surplus,” Oloworaran said.
The accrued pension rights relate to benefits earned by eligible employees for their years of service under the old pension arrangement before the introduction of the CPS in 2004.
The funding improvement means the Federal Government has provided for these accrued entitlements up to December 2029, reducing the risk of delays in paying eligible workers their retirement benefits.
Oloworaran also disclosed that administrative bottlenecks affecting pension payments had largely been addressed, with retirement benefits now processed within a maximum of 48 hours after eligible retirees submit all required documentation.
She further highlighted the Federal Government’s approval of additional exit benefits equivalent to 100 per cent of terminal emoluments for eligible retirees, effective January 2026.
The announcement comes a day after President Bola Tinubu launched the National Minimum Pension Guarantee Programme at the State House in Abuja. The President was represented at the ceremony by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The programme establishes a minimum monthly pension of ₦52,500 for 173,209 eligible retirees under the CPS across the private sector, federal public service and state governments who currently receive pensions below the approved threshold.
The initiative is backed by more than ₦400 billion in the Pension Protection Fund, which is intended to support the payment of the guaranteed minimum pension.
The government also introduced the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan, known as PenCare, to provide free healthcare services to eligible low-income retirees.
According to PenCom, the initiative has more than ₦7 billion remaining from industry contributions after insurance premiums were paid for nearly 30,000 retirees.
The pension developments form part of broader efforts to strengthen retirement security, improve benefit payments and protect vulnerable pensioners under Nigeria’s contributory pension system.
However, the clearance of the 21-month backlog applies specifically to accrued pension rights of eligible federal workers under the CPS. It does not mean that all outstanding pension obligations under federal defined-benefit arrangements or state-level pension systems have been settled.
