PenCom extends pension verification to December

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The National Pension Commission has extended the deadline for the mandatory online verification and enrolment of Federal Government workers to December 31, 2026, after 118,901 eligible employees failed to complete the exercise.

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PenCom disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday, citing low participation and requests from Ministries, Departments and Agencies for more time to enrol their workers.

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The exercise, which began in February 2026, was initially scheduled to end on July 31.

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PenCom said, “As at July 2026, MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, while only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process. These figures fall short of an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.”

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According to the commission, the extension followed requests from several MDAs seeking additional time for their employees to participate in the exercise.

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It said the extra five months would allow affected workers to properly establish their pension entitlements before retirement.

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The exercise is part of efforts by the Federal Government to determine and settle pension liabilities inherited from the Defined Benefit Scheme, which preceded the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004.

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Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees who migrated from the old pension arrangement to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights covering benefits earned before the transition.

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PenCom said the accrued rights comprise pension and gratuity benefits earned by eligible workers from their first appointment up to June 30, 2004, with the amounts determined through actuarial valuation.

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The commission noted that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had, in a circular dated April 27, 2026, directed treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure that eligible workers completed the one-time enrolment.

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It said completing the process was critical to determining the Federal Government’s outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement.

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The exercise is being conducted digitally through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application, known as COBRA, which the commission described as a platform for data capture, validation and processing.

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PenCom said early enrolment would allow accrued pension rights to be determined and the necessary funding secured from the Federal Government before affected workers retire.

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“Subsequently, the amounts would be credited to the employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts well ahead of retirement, thereby earning investment returns and boosting retirement benefits,” the commission stated.

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Under the process, MDAs are required to upload the details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform, after which the workers must visit their respective Pension Fund Administrators with the required documents to complete their enrolment.

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PenCom said Pension Desk Officers trained by the commission were expected to coordinate the exercise in their organisations and assist employees through the process.

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It added that it was working with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to increase awareness and participation.

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The commission urged eligible workers not to treat the extension as a reason for further delay.

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“All active employees of Federal Government Treasury-funded MDAs who were in service as at 30 June 2004 are covered by the accrued pension rights provisions,” PenCom said.

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It urged affected employees and their MDAs to use the extension to complete the enrolment before the December 31 deadline.

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