The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced a new framework to reinstate gratuity payments for federal civil servants under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), marking a significant reform in Nigeriaโs pension administration.
The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Omolola Oloworaran, announced this during a Stakeholdersโ Conference on the workings of the CPS for employees and pensioners of Federal Government treasury-funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), held in Abuja on Thursday.
Represented by the Acting Commissioner, Technical, Hon. Hafiz Kawu Ibrahim, Oloworaran explained that the initiative was developed in collaboration with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in line with Section 4(4) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.
> โWorking with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, a framework has been developed to restore gratuity benefits for federal workers under CPS,โ she stated.
She further revealed that PenCom had enhanced pensions for more than 241,000 retirees, representing about 80 percent of those under the Programmed Withdrawal arrangement. According to her, monthly pension payments rose from N12.157 billion to N14.837 billion as of June 2025.
Oloworaran added that pensioners now enjoy prompt access to their benefits, with the Commission having eliminated delays in disbursement.
> โSince July 2025, no retiree waits to access their pensions. Payments are now immediate, aligned with monthly salary releases from the Federal Ministry of Finance,โ she said.
Commending the reform, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, described the development as a welcome step toward improving the welfare of retired public servants.
He assured that the NSIWC would collaborate with PenCom to review retirement benefit rates and establish mechanisms for periodic adjustments, ensuring that pensioners continue to receive fair and sustainable entitlements.
