PenCom Finalizes November Retiree Payments, Says Pension Delays Are Over

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced that it has fully completed pension payments for all federal retirees who left service in November, signaling an end to delayed entitlements for workers in treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

According to him, recent reforms and strengthened remittance systems have enabled the Commission to achieve steady, timely disbursement of accrued pension rights.

“As of today, all payments for November retirees have been concluded,” Buwai said. “We also remain on track to pay accrued rights for December retirees before the 15th, as earlier announced, so they can access their benefits before the festive season.”

Reforms and bond release clear pension backlogs

Buwai explained that the improved efficiency is tied to ongoing reforms within the pension administration framework, as well as the Federal Government’s recent release of ₦758 billion in bond proceeds to address long-standing pension liabilities — including unpaid pension increases dating back to 2007.

He noted that these measures reflect PenCom’s commitment to ensuring that no retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) experiences hardships due to delayed benefits.

“With these interventions, pension payment delays for treasury-funded MDA retirees are now a thing of the past,” he stated. “PenCom remains committed to strengthening the pension system and protecting the welfare of retirees across the country.”

Crackdown on defaulting employers

Buwai also revealed that PenCom is scaling up enforcement actions against employers who fail to remit pension contributions to their employees’ Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

He highlighted that PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The agreement empowers the ICPC to recover unremitted pension contributions and ensure they are promptly credited to workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), while also prosecuting defaulting employers.

“Defaulters will be sanctioned in line with existing laws,” Buwai warned.

Key background

PenCom recently disclosed that more than 552,000 retirees in Nigeria now receive regular monthly pensions under the CPS.
It also announced that total pension assets have surpassed ₦25 trillion — a major milestone for Nigeria’s pension industry and its role in supporting national development.

Director-General Omolola Oloworaran shared the figures during a two-day sensitisation workshop in Yola for employees and pensioners across the North-East region.