By LOVETH-AZODO CHIJIOKE, Lagos
Only 31,099 employees had completed the ongoing One-Time Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise for accrued pension rights as of July 2026, prompting the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to extend the deadline for the exercise to December 31.
The exercise, which commenced in February 2026 and was initially scheduled to close on July 31, has been extended following requests from MDAs for additional time to enable eligible employees to complete the online enrolment process.
The extension comes amid low participation in the exercise. As of July 2026, MDAs had uploaded records of 62,320 active employees and retirees, while only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process, against an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom has therefore urged eligible employees who are yet to enrol, as well as those who commenced but did not complete the process, to use the additional period to complete their enrolment before the new deadline.
The exercise is aimed at ensuring that the accrued pension rights of eligible employees are accurately determined ahead of retirement.
The accrued pension rights relate to benefits earned under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which preceded the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004.
Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees who transited from the DBS to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights, comprising pension and gratuity benefits earned from their date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004.
The determination of the accrued rights is based on an actuarial valuation process.
The initiative is also expected to assist the Federal Government in determining its outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement.
In a circular issued on April 27, 2026, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure that eligible employees complete the one-time enrolment as required by PenCom.
The commission said early completion of the process would facilitate the determination of employees’ accrued pension rights and enable the necessary funding to be secured from the Federal Government.
It added that, subsequently, the determined amounts would be credited to employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) ahead of retirement, allowing the funds to earn investment returns and potentially boost retirement benefits.
Digital Enrolment Process
The one-time enrolment exercise is being conducted fully online through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), a platform designed to facilitate data capture, validation and processing.
Under the process, MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform. The affected employees are then expected to visit their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with the required documents to complete the enrolment.
Pension Desk Officers (PDOs), who have been trained by PenCom, are responsible for coordinating the exercise within their organisations and guiding employees through the process.
PenCom said it was continuing to work with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness, facilitate participation and ensure that eligible employees are properly captured.
The commission urged eligible employees and treasury-funded MDAs not to wait until the new deadline before completing the exercise.
It clarified that 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.
PenCom called on all eligible employees and the relevant MDAs to take advantage of the extension and complete the enrolment exercise before December 31, 2026.
