The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the mandatory One-Time Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise for eligible Federal Government employees to December 31, 2026.
The exercise, which commenced in February and was initially scheduled to end on July 31, targets employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom in a statement signed by the Director General, Omolora Oloworaran, said the extension followed requests from several MDAs for additional time to enable more eligible employees to participate and complete the online enrolment process.
The Commission said participation remained below expectation, noting that as of July 2026, MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, while only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process.
The figure is significantly below the estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom urged eligible employees who are yet to enrol, as well as those who started but have not completed the process, to take advantage of the extension and conclude their enrolment before the new deadline.
The exercise is part of efforts to determine and settle pension liabilities inherited from the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which preceded the Contributory Pension Scheme introduced in 2004.
Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees who transitioned from the DBS to the Contributory Pension Scheme are entitled to accrued pension rights.
The rights represent pension and gratuity benefits earned by eligible employees from their date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004, with the amounts determined through an actuarial valuation process.
PenCom said determining these liabilities was necessary to enable the Federal Government to make adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in a circular dated April 27, 2026, directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure that eligible employees complete the one-time enrolment.
The exercise is being conducted digitally through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), a platform for data capture, validation and processing.
Under the process, MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform, after which affected employees are expected to approach their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with the necessary documents to complete the enrolment.
PenCom-trained Pension Desk Officers within the MDAs are also responsible for coordinating the exercise and guiding employees through the process.
According to the Commission, early completion of the enrolment will facilitate the determination of accrued pension rights and enable the Federal Government to secure the necessary funding.
Once funded, the accrued benefits will be credited to the affected employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) before retirement, allowing the funds to earn investment returns and potentially increase retirement benefits.
PenCom said it would continue to work with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness and participation in the exercise.
The Commission urged all eligible employees and treasury-funded MDAs to complete the enrolment process before the December 31, 2026 deadline.
All active employees of Nigeria Government treasury-funded MDAs who were in service as of June 30, 2004, are covered by the accrued pension rights provisions.
