PenCom Approves 1,173% Pension Increase for 2,116 NSITF Retirees

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has approved a major upward review of pensions for 2,116 retirees under the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), raising their total monthly pension payments from ₦12.56 million to ₦159.95 million.

The approval represents an unprecedented 1,173 per cent increase in total monthly pension payouts and marks the first pension enhancement for NSITF retirees in 21 years.

The decision, recently approved by the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s policy thrust on improving the welfare of retirees and strengthening social protection systems in Nigeria.

As part of the review, affected retirees have also been paid ₦8.70 billion in pension arrears, with an average arrears payment of about ₦3 million per retiree.

In one notable case, a retiree’s monthly pension increased from about ₦18,000 to ₦206,000, alongside the payment of over ₦8 million in arrears.

PenCom said the enhancement was made possible by the significant growth of the NSITF Fund, which expanded from ₦54 billion in 2005 to ₦195 billion as of December 2025.

The growth, according to the Commission, reflects prudent fund management under its strict regulatory supervision and provided the financial capacity to implement the long-overdue review while safeguarding the Scheme’s sustainability.

The NSITF, established in 1993 as the successor to the National Provident Fund (NPF), managed pension benefits for private sector employees before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.

Following the reform, NSITF pension assets were transferred to Trustfund Pensions Limited, which was mandated to manage the Scheme’s assets and administer benefits to existing and deferred pensioners.

PenCom noted that Section 39(3) of the PRA 2014 and Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution require pension reviews at least every five years or in line with Federal Civil Service salary adjustments.

In addition, the NSITF Benefits Payment Policy stipulates that the minimum retirement pension must not fall below 80 per cent of the National Minimum Wage.

Despite these provisions, NSITF pensions had not been reviewed since 2005. In response, PenCom invoked Section 53 of the PRA 2014 and directed Trustfund Pensions Limited to submit a comprehensive pension enhancement proposal, which led to the current review.

Payments have so far been made to verified NSITF retirees.

To further ease the process, PenCom approved the deployment of the “VerifyMe” digital solution, enabling automated revalidation of pensioners and eliminating the need for physical verification exercises.

The Commission said the initiative has significantly improved service delivery and reduced stress for elderly pensioners.