KEY POINTS

• NSITF pension increase lifts payouts by over 1,100 percent.
• PenCom approved N8.7 billion in pension arrears.
• NSITF pension increase follows two decades without review.

Nigeria’s pension regulator has approved a sweeping increase in payments to retirees under the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, ending more than two decades without a review and sharply lifting incomes for thousands of former private-sector workers.

The National Pension Commission said 2,116 NSITF retirees will now receive a combined N159.95 million in monthly pensions, up from N12.56 million previously, representing a 1,173 percent increase. The adjustment also includes the payment of N8.7 billion in pension arrears, with an average of about N3 million paid to each retiree.

PenCom said the decision aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s broader push to strengthen social protection and restore the real value of retirement benefits amid rising living costs.

NSITF pension increase after 21 years

The NSITF pension increase marks the first upward review for beneficiaries of the scheme since 2005. PenCom said the approval was granted by its Director General, Omolola Oloworaran, following a detailed assessment of the fund’s financial position and long-standing compliance gaps.

In one case cited by the regulator, a retiree’s monthly pension rose from about N18,000 to N206,000, alongside arrears exceeding N8 million. PenCom said the adjustment corrected disparities that had persisted despite legal provisions requiring periodic pension reviews.

Under Nigeria’s pension framework, Section 39(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 and Section 173(3) of the Constitution mandate reviews at least every five years or in line with public sector salary adjustments. The NSITF Benefits Payment Policy also sets a minimum pension benchmark at 80 percent of the national minimum wage.

Fund growth enables review

The commission said the expansion of the scheme’s asset base supported the NSITF pension increase, with assets rising from N54 billion at the time of its transfer in 2005 to N195 billion as of December 2025. The regulator credited tighter oversight and prudent investment management for creating room to implement the long-delayed adjustment without undermining sustainability.

The NSITF, established in 1993 as the successor to the National Provident Fund, managed pension benefits for private-sector workers before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004. After the reform, its assets were transferred to Trustfund Pensions Limited, which administers benefits to existing and deferred retirees.

PenCom said it invoked Section 53 of the Pension Reform Act to compel compliance after years of inaction and has begun paying verified beneficiaries, with further payments expected as verification continues.