Omolola Oloworaran Says Federal Pension Rights Are Funded Through December 2029

Nigeria’s pension regulator says a major funding shortfall for federal workers’ retirement rights has been replaced by a substantial surplus. PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran said the government has funded accrued pension rights for enrolled federal employees through December 2029, according to her remarks at a pension correspondents’ conference in Abuja. Oloworaran, represented at the event by the commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, described a sharp turnaround. She said the system had previously been 21 months behind in meeting the relevant obligations, but now stood 41 months ahead. That surplus, she explained, means the accrued rights of enrolled federal employees who have yet to retire are funded through the end of 2029. She also said delays in paying retirement benefits had largely been eliminated. According to Oloworaran, pensions are now processed within a maximum of 48 hours after retirement, making lengthy waits a thing of the past for eligible retirees. The PenCom chief discussed two other measures: the PenCare health insurance programme and a minimum pension guarantee of N52,500, launched by President Bola Tinubu. She said PenCare is intended to ease retirees’ medical costs so they can use more of their monthly pension for other expenses. The programme is funded by pension operators and PenCom, and overseen by an independent board chaired by the commission’s pioneer Director-General, Muhammad Ahmad. Oloworaran added that eligible pensioners receiving less than N52,500 would have their payments raised to the guaranteed level. She said some beneficiaries received payment alerts during the launch. She also reported that the Federal Government had approved extra exit benefits equal to 100 per cent of terminal emoluments for eligible retirees, effective January 1, 2026.