Nigeria’s National Pension Commission (PenCom) says monthly payments to retirees covered by the Contributory Pension Scheme have climbed 22% to N14.83 billion, reflecting pension-sector measures introduced during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran announced the increase during a Tuesday briefing in Abuja. She said the monthly amount paid to former workers rose by N2.68 billion, from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.
Oloworaran said reforms implemented across the pension industry over the past two years had substantially eased problems affecting the sector, particularly challenges experienced by Nigerian pensioners.
She highlighted a sharp adjustment for retirees under the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), where monthly benefits increased by 1,173%, moving from N18,000 to N206,000 after 21 years without such a revision.
“For the first time, pensioners throughout the Contributory Pension Scheme have received an across-the-board increase,” Oloworaran said. “Pension Boost 1.0 lifted monthly pensions for more than 241,000 retirees, with total monthly payments rising from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.”
Monthly payments to 2,116 NSITF pensioners together increased from N12.56 million to N159.95 million, while N8.70 billion in outstanding arrears has been settled, she said. A retiree previously receiving roughly N18,000 each month now receives about N206,000. “Twenty-one years of waiting” had been resolved through one decision, she added.
Oloworaran also said PenCom has digitised the process for applying sanctions against employers that fail to transfer employees’ pension deductions. The commission is additionally stepping up work to ensure complaints connected to the Contributory Pension Scheme are resolved within 24 hours.
