Federal Government Settles 17-Year Pension Debt with N758bn

The Federal Government has successfully cleared pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through a N758 billion intervention bond, providing financial relief to 957,045 beneficiaries across Nigeria. Omolola Oloworaran, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, announced this during the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos.

She emphasized that the settlement marks a significant step in addressing years of accumulated pension obligations inherited from previous administrations. The government has now fulfilled its responsibility to honor commitments to workers who served faithfully.

To prevent future pension backlogs, PenCom has credited accrued pension rights for federal employees scheduled to retire up to December 2029 directly to their Retirement Savings Accounts. Additionally, a Zero Waiting Time Policy has been introduced to align retirement benefit payments with monthly public service salary cycles, reducing processing times from 21 months to 48 hours.

The conference also revealed a review of payments to retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, resulting in an average 1,173 percent increase in payments for 2,116 retirees.