The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has increased pensions paid to retirees under the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) by 1,173% and also paid ₦8.70 billion in outstanding arrears.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, said the decision affects 2,116 NSITF retirees and increases their combined monthly pension payments from ₦12.56 million to ₦159.95 million,about a 12.7x jump and the first major adjustment for the group in 21 years.
PenCom also confirmed that the affected retirees have received ₦8.70 billion in pension arrears, with the average arrears payment estimated at about ₦3 million per beneficiary.
“From ₦18,000 to ₦206,000”
To illustrate the impact, the commission cited a case in which a retiree’s monthly pension was increased from roughly ₦18,000 to ₦206,000, alongside an arrears payment of over ₦8 million.
Oloworaran described the approval as part of reforms aimed at restoring the real value of legacy NSITF pensions, many of which had remained stagnant despite inflation and rising living costs.
Why PenCom says the increase is possible
PenCom linked the pension enhancement to the expansion of the NSITF Fund over time. According to the commission, the fund grew from about ₦54 billion when it was transferred in 2005 to about ₦195 billion as of December 2025, growth it attributed to prudent management under regulatory oversight.
PenCom said this improved asset base provided the financial “headroom” needed to implement a long-delayed review while keeping the scheme sustainable.
Background: the NSITF legacy scheme and the administrator
NSITF, established in 1993 as successor to the defunct National Provident Fund, managed pension benefits for private sector employees before Nigeria’s contributory pension reforms. Following the Pension Reform Act changes, the assets under the old NSITF scheme were transferred, and Trustfund Pensions Limited was mandated to manage the assets and administer benefits to existing and deferred pensioners.
PenCom said it invoked relevant provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014 to address prolonged non-compliance with periodic pension review expectations, directing Trustfund Pensions Limited to submit a comprehensive proposal that ultimately led to the approved increase.
