The Federal Government has settled outstanding pension liabilities worth ₦758 billion, including arrears accumulated over nearly two decades, according to the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the Senior Citizens Day celebration of the inaugural National Pension Week, themed “Pension for All: Building a Secure Future Together.”

Addressing retirees, senior citizens and other stakeholders, Oloworaran said the government had prioritised the welfare and dignity of Nigerians after retirement, noting that eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme could now have their benefits processed within 48 hours, provided their documentation was complete.

She recalled that before the recent reforms, some retirees waited almost two years to receive their benefits after leaving service.

According to her, President Bola Tinubu approved an intervention of nearly ₦1 trillion to clear outstanding obligations owed to pensioners, including arrears dating back almost 20 years.

Oloworaran said the settlement had brought relief to beneficiaries whose entitlements had remained unpaid across successive administrations.

Beyond clearing the backlog, she said the government had introduced two major pension increases under the Pension Boost 1.0 initiative, alongside a ₦32,000 consequential adjustment across the board.

She described the adjustment as the highest consequential pension increase implemented at the federal level.

The PenCom chief also announced plans to launch two welfare initiatives in November: the PennCare Health Initiative for low-income retirees and the Minimum Pension Guarantee.

She explained that PennCare would provide health insurance coverage for retirees, adding that a pilot programme involving 30,000 beneficiaries was already underway.

Oloworaran expressed concern that some pensioners had been receiving as little as ₦20,000 monthly, describing the situation as an anomaly the government was seeking to address through the new measures.

She said the planned initiatives were intended to improve retirees’ financial security and access to healthcare.

The PenCom director-general stressed that retirement welfare should extend beyond the payment of monthly benefits, noting that Nigerians who had served the country for 30 to 35 years should not be left to struggle with medical expenses after retirement.

National Pension Week is a week-long engagement designed to gather feedback from Nigerians across different sectors. The programme began with activities focused on young people on Monday before continuing with the senior citizens’ session on Tuesday.