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) to December 31, 2026.
The exercise, which commenced in February 2026 and was originally scheduled to end on July 31, 2026, targets employees entitled to accrued pension rights under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).
PenCom said the extension followed requests from several MDAs for additional time to enable more eligible employees to participate and complete the online enrolment process.
The commission urged all eligible employees who are yet to enrol, as well as those who started but have not completed the process, to take advantage of the extension.
The extension became necessary following low participation in the exercise.
As of July 2026, treasury-funded MDAs had uploaded records of 62,320 active employees and retirees, but only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process.
The figure represents a significant shortfall against an estimated 150,000 active Federal Government employees believed to be entitled to accrued pension rights.
PenCom said completing the exercise would enable the accurate determination of beneficiaries’ accrued pension rights and assist the Federal Government in making adequate provisions for outstanding pension liabilities.
The initiative is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to address pension liabilities inherited from the DBS, which operated before 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 representing benefits earned under the former scheme.
The accrued benefits comprise pension and gratuity rights earned by eligible employees from their date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004, with the liabilities determined through an actuarial valuation process.
In a circular dated 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 completed the one-time enrolment required by PenCom.
The exercise is expected to provide the basis for determining the Federal Government’s outstanding pension obligations and making appropriate budgetary provisions for their settlement.
The enrolment exercise is being conducted entirely online through PenCom’s Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), a secure platform designed for data capture, validation and processing.
Under the process, MDAs are required to upload the details of eligible employees on COBRA, after which the affected employees are expected to visit their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with the required documents to complete enrolment.
PenCom-trained Pension Desk Officers (PDOs) coordinate the exercise within their respective organisations and assist employees through the enrolment process.
Early enrolment could boost retirement benefits.
PenCom said early completion of the exercise would facilitate the determination of accrued pension rights and enable the necessary funding to be secured from the Federal Government.
Once the funds are provided, the determined amounts would be credited to beneficiaries’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) ahead of retirement, allowing the funds to earn investment returns and potentially increase their retirement benefits.
The commission said it would continue to work with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness, increase participation and ensure that all eligible employees are properly captured.
PenCom stressed that the December 31, 2026 deadline provides additional time but urged eligible employees and their MDAs not to wait until the last minute.
It reiterated that 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 and should complete the enrolment process before the new deadline.
