The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended to December 31, 2026, the deadline for the mandatory One-Time Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise for eligible Federal Government employees.
The exercise, which began in February and was originally scheduled to end on July 31, covers employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who are entitled to accrued pension rights.
In a statement, PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, said the extension followed requests from several MDAs for more time to enable eligible employees to complete the online enrolment.
She said participation in the exercise remained below expectations.
As of July 2026, MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, while only 31,099 employees had completed the enrolment process.
The figures are below the estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom urged eligible employees who have not enrolled, as well as those who started but did not complete the process, to use the additional time to finalise their enrolment before the new deadline.
The exercise is part of efforts to establish and settle pension liabilities inherited from the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which preceded the Contributory Pension Scheme introduced in 2004.
Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees who moved from the DBS to the Contributory Pension Scheme are entitled to accrued pension rights.
The benefits cover pension and gratuity entitlements earned from an employee’s first appointment up to June 30, 2004, with the value determined through actuarial assessment.
PenCom said establishing the liabilities would enable the Federal Government to make appropriate budgetary provisions for their payment.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in a circular dated April 27, 2026, directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure that eligible employees complete the one-time enrolment.
The process is being carried out digitally through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), which is used to capture, validate and process relevant employee information.
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Under the arrangement, MDAs upload details of eligible employees on COBRA, after which the employees are required to approach their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with the necessary documents to complete the process.
PenCom-trained Pension Desk Officers in the MDAs are also responsible for coordinating the exercise and assisting employees with the enrolment.
The Commission said completing the process early would facilitate the determination of accrued pension rights and help the Federal Government secure the funds required to settle the liabilities.
Once funded, the accrued benefits would be credited to the affected employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), where they could earn investment returns before retirement.
PenCom said it would continue to collaborate with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to raise awareness and improve participation.
The Commission urged all eligible employees and treasury-funded MDAs to complete the enrolment process before the December 31, 2026 deadline.
