Lagos Govt says it paid N168.2 Billion to over 48,000 retirees in 19 years

The Lagos State Government has paid a cumulative N168.2 billion to over 48,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme since 2007, including a landmark N5 billion single-batch payment in July 2024 that cleared all outstanding pension backlogs at the time.

The state government disclosed the figures on Tuesday via its official Facebook page, describing the administration’s pension record as the strongest in the state’s history.

LASPEC added that from May 2019 to date, the government has disbursed N92 billion in accrued rights to more than 25,000 retirees. Accrued rights cover both the gratuity and pension components owed to retiring officers.

What the Lagos State Government is saying

The Lagos State Government said its pension record reflects sustained efforts to meet its obligations to retirees.

• “The Lagos State Pension Commission has paid N168.2 Billion (One hundred and sixty eight billion, two hundred million Naira) to over 48,000 retirees from 2007 to date,” it noted.

The state said this year alone, LASPEC has paid 1,862 retirees a total of over N4 billion, with a further N1 billion set to be disbursed to another 700 retirees within the next week.

• The government said it has taken several deliberate steps to strengthen pension welfare beyond routine payments.
• In 2020, it said it raised pension contribution rates to 10% for employers and 8% for employees to grow the pension fund available to staff at retirement.
• It said it instituted a policy of expedited gratuity payment for sick pensioners, ensuring they receive immediate relief while their pension element continues to be paid into their Retirement Savings Account.

For retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme, the government said it extended the N25,000 wage award to over 10,000 DBS retirees between December 2023 and February 2024.

In March 2025, the government said it followed up with further increments of 20% and 28% for that category of pensioners.

In May 2026, after the Federal Government awarded a N32,000 wage increase to its own pensioners, Lagos noted that it matched the gesture for its DBS retirees within the same year, a move the government said drove its pension wage bill up by more than 100%.

Get up to speed

Lagos State has in recent years made efforts to reduce its accrued pension backlog and improve the speed at which retirement benefits are paid to retirees.

• In October 2024, Nairametrics reported that the Lagos State Government disbursed N740 million in accrued pension rights to 348 retirees, covering entitlements for service rendered before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2007.
• This followed a N4.48 billion payment to 1,455 retirees in March 2024, after N3.2 billion was paid to 1,013 retirees the previous month.
• Lagos State’s latest pension payment comes amid broader efforts to strengthen pension payments and address outstanding obligations across Nigeria’s retirement system.
• In December 2025, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) said it had paid N577.26 billion into 1.05 million Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as part of efforts to clear outstanding pension liabilities.

More recently, PenCom disclosed that 143,248 new Retirement Savings Accounts were opened in the first quarter of 2026, taking cumulative registrations to 11.18 million.

What you should know

Despite progress in pension payments, Nigeria still faces a significant challenge in getting workers’ retirement accounts funded.

In August 2026, PenCom warned that it could miss its 30% Pension Protection and Preservation (PPP) target, as 91% of Retirement Savings Accounts remain unfunded.

The commission said the situation underscores the need to improve pension participation and ensure that more workers have active, funded retirement accounts.