The National Pension Commission (PenCom) on Tuesday revealed that it has paid N577,264,960,890 to 1,053,000 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as part of efforts to clear the pension backlog.
The update was announced by the Head of PenCom’s Management Services Department, Usman Musa, at the 2025 PenCom Media Conference tagged “Pension Revolution Summit: A 365-Day Scorecard,” attended by Nairametrics.
The development stems from the approved N758 billion Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bond previously earmarked to fully settle outstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Update on N758 Billion FGN Bond
- Providing an update on the bond, Musa confirmed that the full N758 billion has been released to the Commission.
- He explained that a major portion of the funds—N387 billion—was earmarked for pension increases.
- Out of this amount, he stated, “We have paid out N362,700,000,000.”
- He further disclosed that PenCom has remitted N107 billion to cover the 2.5 percent shortfall in pension contributions by the Federal Government over a five-year period (2017 to 2021), when the government did not remit contributions.
- According to him, the remittance went directly to 750,232 RSAs.
“In a whole, the total payout of N577,264,960,890 has already hit the RSAs of either retirees or pension contributors. In total, this has directly impacted 1,053,000 Retirement Savings Accounts,” he said.
PenCom 365-Day Scorecard
Earlier, the Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, highlighted that one of the most historic milestones of the year was the presidential approval and disbursement of the N758 billion bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities.
According to her, this unprecedented intervention sent a clear and powerful signal that Nigeria honours its commitments to workers and retirees.
To further enhance benefit adequacy, she disclosed that the Commission introduced Pension Post 1.0, which has added N2.68 billion to monthly pension payments for CPS retirees since June this year.
She explained that PenCom issued a decisive compliance circular in the second quarter of 2025, linking Pension Clearance Certificates to participation across the pension value chain, resulting in positive outcomes for pensioners.
She added that from January to November 2025, total pension recoveries reached N4.04 billion, compared to N1.44 billion recorded in the entire year of 2024—representing an increase of 180 percent.
“Most notably, N2.06 billion was recovered in the third quarter of 2025 alone, equalling the total amount recovered in 2024,” she said.
Oloworaran noted that a similar shift was evident in compliance behaviour, clearly demonstrating that when compliance is tied to real economic consequences, behaviour changes.
On the technology front, she acknowledged that while the Commission still has work to do, PenCom has achieved full automation of critical pension processes, including the upgrading and automation of the Benefit Processing and Contribution Remittance Platform.
“This year, we inaugurated the Board of Trustees of the Pension Healthcare Initiative, a landmark industry intervention aimed at providing affordable and accessible healthcare for low-income retirees,” she added.
She assured that in the next phase of the pension revolution, the Commission will expand coverage, deepen trust, improve investment outcomes, strengthen supervision, and protect retirees.
Backstory
Recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on February 5, 2025, approved the issuance of a N758 billion bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities for federal pensioners.
Nairametrics had earlier reported that Oloworaran stated the N758 billion FGN bond would fully settle outstanding pension liabilities under the CPS.
In February, she explained that the bond, approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, marked a defining milestone in Nigeria’s pension administration and a new dawn for pensioners, ensuring that the CPS fulfills its core mandate of providing timely and adequate retirement benefits.
She added that the bond resolves all accumulated pension liabilities, including accrued pension rights, pension increases since 2007, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), and the University Professors’ Pension Shortfall.
According to her, with the expected bond issuance, all accrued rights payments and backlogs will be remitted to the respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), enabling timely payments to retirees.
“N253 billion has been allocated to settle outstanding entitlements for retirees of FGN treasury-funded MDAs, addressing delays caused by previous funding shortfalls. Going forward, accrued pension rights will be included in the monthly personnel cost general warrant, ensuring automatic and timely payments,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had disclosed that the approval would enable the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise the funds needed to clear long-standing pension arrears.
What You Should Know
- In 2004, the Federal Government of Nigeria enacted the Pensions Reform Act (PRA 2004), which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
- The Act made it mandatory for employers and employees in both the public and private sectors to contribute towards employees’ retirement benefits.
- At the time, pension administration in Nigeria faced challenges such as inadequate funding, poor management, low coverage, lack of awareness, and a weak regulatory framework.
