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By Henry Uche
Workers and retirees across Nigeria are welcoming a new move by the Pension Commission (PenCom) that allows them to report erring Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). The initiative promises to give contributors a stronger voice in protecting their retirement savings and ensuring accountability in the nation’s pension system.
Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) over time have come under heavy criticism by most Nigerian workers and retirees alike for involving in some sort of sharp practices that endangered their wealth. Though no PFA is mentioned, most Nigerians believe some of them are not exempted from certain unethical practices that frustrate or annoy retirees. The worst of it is a situation where workers and senior citizens are helpless and remain at the mercy of the PFAs.
This could be why the National Pension Commission (PenCom) said it is working on opening a direct channel of communications with the public that would enable them to report unethical practices perpetuated by Pension Fund Administrators.
Some of the unacceptable practices include but are not limited to: delays in processing benefits, poor communication and lack of transparency, unexplained deductions or low returns, manipulating investment information, withholding or splitting payments.
Others are: Disregard for customer service, rude or dismissive attitude from staff toward retirees’ complaints; complicating the verification or documentation process, concealing investment; opportunities or choices, collusion with employers to frustrate pensioners, delaying or underreporting remittances from employers, concealing unpaid or missing contributions made during the retiree’s service years, lack of accountability, ignoring audit queries or feedback from PenCom, providing inconsistent statements of account that make tracking contributions difficult.
To engender transparency, accountability and inclusion, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, at a recent event in Lagos, said the Commission seeks to have free communications with the public on the performance of pension fund administrators.
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In addition, she urged the public to utilize all the existing social media platforms of the Commission and make contributions toward the growth of the pension. Oloworaran noted that over the last two decades, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has rewritten Nigeria’s pension story in the interest of contributors and Nigeria at large.
“We have moved from an era defined by unpaid entitlements and uncertainty to a new order anchored on transparency, sustainability, and inclusiveness. Today, more than 10 million Nigerians from public service employees to private sector workers, and even artisans and the self-employed under the Personal Pension Plan, are covered under the CPS,” she submitted.
According to her, the pension assets have grown to over N25 trillion, fueling national development through strategic investments, while also securing regular monthly pensions for over 552,000 retirees and lump sum benefits for an additional 291,735 retirees.
“In total, more than 844,000 retirees across both public and private sectors now enjoy retirement benefits that are steady, reliable, and transparent,” she affirmed.
Pencom boss added that in line with PenCom’s mandate to protect contributors and guarantee dignity in retirement, it has rolled out key interventions that are already changing lives; stressing that Pension Boost 1.0, one of the interventions, has led to the enhancing of pensions for over 241,000 retirees, representing 80 per cent of those under Programmed Withdrawal.
She submitted that monthly pensions rose from N12.157 billion to N14.837 billion, effective June 2025, more over, there is now zero waiting time for pension payments – Since July 2025, as no retiree waits to access their pensions, as payments are now immediate, aligned with monthly salary releases from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
