PenCom extends pension enrolment deadline for civil servants to December

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the mandatory online verification and enrolment exercise for eligible federal civil servants to December 31, 2026.

PenCom spoke in a statement on Tuesday that the exercise, which began in February, was initially scheduled to end on July 31.

The commission said the extension followed requests from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for additional time to enable eligible employees to complete the online enrolment process.

As at July 2026, PenCom said MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, but only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment.

The commission said the figures fall short of the estimated 150,000 active federal government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.

“PenCom calls on all eligible employees and Treasury-funded MDAs to take full advantage of the extension and complete the enrolment exercise before the new deadline,” PenCom.

The commission urged eligible employees and treasury-funded MDAs not to delay completion of the exercise before the new deadline.

‘EXERCISE TARGETS ACCRUED PENSION RIGHTS’

PenCom said the exercise is aimed at determining the accrued pension rights of eligible employees and establishing the federal government’s outstanding pension liabilities.

“This is essential for determining the Federal Government’s outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement,” the statement reads.

The exercise is being conducted digitally through PenCom’s contributions and bond redemption application (COBRA), which facilitates data capture, validation and processing.

MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the platform, after which the employees are expected to visit their respective pension fund administrators (PFAs) with the required documents to complete enrolment.

Pension desk officers (PDOs), trained by PenCom, are responsible for coordinating the exercise within their organisations and guiding employees through the process.

PenCom said early completion would facilitate the determination of accrued pension rights and enable the necessary funding to be secured from the federal government.

“Amounts would be credited to employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) well ahead of retirement — earning investment returns and boosting retirement benefits,” the statement said.

The head of the civil service of the federation, in a circular dated April 27, 2026, directed treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure eligible employees complete the one-time enrolment.

‘ACCRUED RIGHTS DATE BACK TO 2004’

PenCom said the exercise addresses pension liabilities inherited from the defined benefit scheme (DBS), which existed before the introduction of the contributory pension scheme (CPS) in 2004.

“Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014), employees who transitioned to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights – benefits earned under the DBS,” PenCom said.

The rights comprise pension and gratuity benefits earned from an employee’s date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004.

PenCom said all active employees of federal government treasury-funded MDAs who were in service as of June 30, 2004, are covered by the accrued pension rights provisions.

The commission said the determination of the rights is based on an actuarial valuation process.

PenCom said it would continue to collaborate with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness, facilitate participation and ensure eligible employees are properly captured.