The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has approved an upward review of pensions for 2,116 retirees under the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), increasing their total monthly pension payments from ₦12.56 million to ₦159.95 million.
The review represents an unprecedented 1,173 percent increase in total monthly payouts and marks a major milestone in President Bola Tinubu’s policy drive to enhance the welfare of retirees in Nigeria.
The approval was granted by the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, whose tenure has been characterised by reforms aimed at strengthening the Contributory Pension Scheme.
This is the first pension increase for NSITF retirees in 21 years and addresses long-standing disparities by restoring the value of benefits in line with statutory provisions and prevailing economic realities.
As part of the enhancement, the affected retirees have also received ₦8.70 billion in pension arrears, with an average payment of about ₦3 million per retiree.
In one notable case, a retiree’s monthly pension was increased from about ₦18,000 to ₦206,000, alongside the payment of over ₦8 million in arrears.
PenCom attributed the enhancement to the significant growth of the NSITF Fund, which expanded from ₦54 billion at the point of transfer in 2005 to ₦195 billion as of December 2025.
The growth, achieved under strict regulatory supervision, provided the financial headroom required to implement the long-overdue review while maintaining the Scheme’s sustainability.
The NSITF was established in 1993 as the successor to the National Provident Fund, managing pension benefits for private sector employees before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme under the Pension Reform Act 2004.
Following the reform, pension assets under the defunct NSITF Scheme were transferred to Trustfund Pensions Limited, which was mandated to manage the assets and administer benefits to existing and deferred pensioners.
Section 39(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, together with Section 173(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, mandates periodic pension reviews at least every five years or in line with Federal Civil Service salary reviews.
In addition, the NSITF Benefits Payment Policy stipulates that the minimum retirement pension should not be less than 80 percent of the prevailing National Minimum Wage.
Despite these provisions, NSITF pensions were last reviewed in 2005.
In response to the prolonged non-compliance, PenCom invoked Section 53 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which requires that benefits under the NSITF Scheme be administered in accordance with the Scheme’s governing terms.
PenCom consequently directed Trustfund Pensions Limited to submit a comprehensive proposal for pension enhancement.
Payments have so far been made to verified NSITF retirees. To further ease the burden of verification, PenCom approved the deployment of the “VerifyMe” digital solution for automated revalidation of NSITF pensioners.
The initiative eliminated the need for physical verification exercises, improving efficiency and reducing stress for senior citizens.