By Bisi Bamishe
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the ongoing mandatory One-Time Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise for employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who are entitled to accrued pension rights.
The exercise, which started in February 2026 and was initially scheduled to end on 31 July 2026, has now been extended to 31 December 2026. The extension follows several requests from MDAs seeking additional time for employees to participate in the online enrolment process.
The extension provides all eligible employees with another opportunity to complete the exercise and ensure that their accrued pension rights are accurately determined ahead of retirement.
Deadline Extension Due to Low Participation
Low participation in the exercise has necessitated the timeline extension. As at July 2026, MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, while only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process. These figures fall short of an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom is therefore urging all eligible employees who are yet to enrol, as well as those who have started but not completed the process, to use the additional time provided by the extension to complete their enrolment.
Exercise Addresses Legacy Pension Liabilities
The initiative is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to settle pension liabilities carried over 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 transited to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights, being benefits earned under the DBS.
These accrued rights comprise pension and gratuity benefits earned by eligible employees from their date of first appointment up to 30 June 2004. Their determination is based on an actuarial valuation process.
In a circular issued on 27 April 2026, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation had directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure that eligible employees complete the One-time Enrolment as required by PenCom. This is essential for determining the Federal Government’s outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement.
Digital Transformation Drives New Approach
The One-Time enrolment exercise is fully digital and is conducted through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA).
COBRA is a secure platform designed to facilitate data capture, validation and processing.
Benefits of Early Enrolment
Early completion facilitates the determination of accrued pension rights and enables the necessary funding to be secured from the Federal Government. Subsequently, the amounts would be credited to the employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) well ahead of retirement, thereby earning investment returns and boosting retirement benefits.
MDAs, Pension Desk Officers and PFAs Have Key Roles
MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform, after which affected employees are expected to visit their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with the required documents to complete the enrolment process.
Pension Desk Officers (PDOs), who have been trained by PenCom, coordinate the exercise within their organisations and guide employees through the process.
PenCom continues to collaborate with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness, facilitate participation and ensure that eligible employees are properly captured.
PenCom Urges Eligible Employees to Act
While the extension to 31 December 2026 provides additional time, PenCom has urged eligible employees and their respective MDAs not to delay completion of the process. All active employees of Federal Government Treasury-funded MDAs who were in service as at 30 June 2004 are covered by the accrued pension rights provisions.
PenCom therefore 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.
