PenCom extends pension verification deadline as over 118,000 federal workers fail to enrol

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) in Nigeria has extended the deadline for mandatory online verification and enrolment of eligible federal workers until December 31, 2026. This extension came after low participation in the exercise, with only 31,099 out of an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees completing the enrolment process as of July.

The PenCom disclosed these figures in a statement, noting that the exercise began in February 2026 and was initially set to conclude on July 31. The commission had requested additional time from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to accommodate a more comprehensive enrolment. Currently, only about 79.3% of the estimated total eligible workers have successfully completed the enrolment.

PenCom has uploaded records of 62,320 active employees and retirees to its platform but observed that only half of these captured records have completed the enrolment process. The deadline extension was prompted by requests from MDAs for more time to facilitate the process.

The exercise is targeted at active employees of treasury-funded Federal Government departments and agencies who were in service as of June 30, 2004, before Nigeria transitioned from the Defined Benefit Scheme to the Contributory Pension Scheme. The extension will allow early enrolment, determining accrued pension rights, and enabling the Federal Government to fund these rights before affected employees retire.

Accrued rights would then be credited to workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts, potentially increasing their eventual retirement benefits.

PenCom urged eligible federal workers who have not yet enrolled and those who started but did not complete the process to take advantage of the five-month extension. The commission also called on MDAs, Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), and Pension Desk Officers to intensify their efforts to ensure eligible workers are captured before the new deadline.