The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the mandatory verification and enrolment of eligible Federal Government workers to December 31, 2026, after a large number of employees failed to complete the process. The exercise, which began in February, was originally scheduled to close on July 31.
According to PenCom, only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment as of July, out of an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government workers eligible for accrued pension rights. This leaves about 118,901 workers, representing 79.3% of the estimated eligible workforce, yet to complete the process.
PenCom said Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees to its digital platform, COBRA. However, only about half of those whose records had been uploaded successfully completed their enrolment. The commission said the five-month extension followed requests from MDAs for additional time and the low level of participation recorded during the initial period.
The verification exercise is particularly important for active employees of treasury-funded Federal Government MDAs who were already in service as of June 30, 2004, before Nigeria transitioned from the Defined Benefit Scheme to the Contributory Pension Scheme. PenCom explained that the process will help determine workers’ accrued pension rights and enable the Federal Government to establish its outstanding pension liabilities and make appropriate budgetary provisions. Once funded, the accrued benefits will be credited to eligible workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts.
PenCom has urged affected workers who are yet to enrol, as well as those who started but did not complete the process, to use the new deadline to complete their verification. Employees are required to work with their respective MDAs and Pension Fund Administrators to complete the digital enrolment process. The commission also called on MDAs, PFAs and Pension Desk Officers to step up efforts to ensure all eligible workers are captured before the December 31, 2026 deadline.
source: nairametrics
