The Federal Government has settled inherited pension liabilities accumulated since 2007 through a N758bn intervention bond, bringing relief to 957,045 beneficiaries nationwide.

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday while delivering a keynote address at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos.

The address, titled, ‘From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope, Pension Security for All Nigerians,’ focused on measures introduced to address longstanding pension challenges and strengthen retirement security.

Oloworaran said the settlement marked the resolution of pension obligations that had remained unpaid across successive administrations.

She said, “The Federal Government cleared all inherited pension liabilities, some dating back to 2007. These obligations passed through multiple administrations, but this government chose to settle them. That is statesmanship—a debt paid, not just a promise.”

According to her, the development represented a significant step towards restoring confidence in the pension system and ensuring that workers receive the benefits they are entitled to after years of service.

She added that the settlement of the legacy liabilities was part of wider reforms being implemented under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

PenCom also disclosed that accrued pension rights for federal workers expected to retire up to December 2029 had been credited to their Retirement Savings Accounts following a comprehensive verification and enrolment exercise.

The commission said it had also introduced a Zero Waiting Time Policy aimed at synchronising retirement benefit payments with monthly salary cycles, thereby reducing financial gaps for newly retired workers.

It added that the processing period for pension benefits had been drastically reduced from as long as 21 months to 48 hours.

Oloworaran further disclosed that statutory provisions had been invoked to review pension payments to retirees of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.

She said the 21-year review resulted in an average 1,173 per cent increase in payments to 2,116 NSITF retirees, while N8.7bn in outstanding arrears was also paid.

The commission said the implementation of Pension Boost 1.0 had increased monthly payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme from N12.15bn to N14.83bn, benefiting more than 241,000 retirees across the country.

Oloworaran said the effectiveness of any government’s commitment to workers should also be measured by how it fulfils its obligations to them after retirement.

PenCom also announced plans to introduce additional welfare measures, including the PenCare free healthcare initiative, which will initially provide support to 30,000 low-income retirees.

Other planned measures include the activation of a statutory Minimum Pension Guarantee and the expansion of the Micro Pension Plan to informal-sector workers, including traders and artisans, through a nationwide network of agents.