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– Recovers N4.04bn from defaulters
– Over 1m retirees impacted
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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disbursed over N577 billion to retirees and pension contributors as part of a N758 billion intervention to clear outstanding pension liabilities.
PenCom Director-General Ms Omolola Oloworaran disclosed this at the 2025 Pension Revolution Summit in Abuja on Tuesday.
Oloworaran said the disbursement has directly impacted 1,053,000 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), marking one of the most significant pension interventions in Nigeria’s history.
She also revealed that PenCom has recovered N4.04 billion from defaulting employers between January and November 2025, compared with N1.44 billion recovered in the whole of 2024, representing a 118 per cent increase. Of this, N2.06 billion was recovered in the third quarter alone, equalling the total amount recovered for the entire previous year.
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The commission attributed the spike in recoveries to stricter enforcement, including linking pension compliance certificates to participation in transactions across the pension value chain. “Essentially, if you don’t have a pension federal certificate, you can’t transact with custodians, operators, or financial institutions,” Ms Oloworaran explained.
The disbursement included N387 billion for pension increases, of which N362.74 billion has been paid, and N107 billion to cover the Federal Government’s 2.5 per cent contribution shortfall over five years (2017–2021), benefiting about 750,223 RSAs. Other payments, including those for university professors and special retirees, are being processed in batches.
The DG emphasised that these reforms are part of the broader Pension Revolution 2.0, which has also introduced Pension Boost 1.0, adding N2.6 billion to monthly pension payments since June 2025. She said these measures have tangible impacts on retirees’ lives.
“These are not just numbers. They are meals on tables, medicine bought, debts settled, and dignity preserved. And we did hear the testimonies from the impact meeting that was watched.
“Retirement should be a reason of peace. It should be a reason for peace and a season of peace as well, not a period defined by anxiety over medical bills,” she said.
