Business

PenCom Extends Pension Verification Deadline for Civil Servants to December 2026

Published

3 weeks ago

September 16, 2026

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, beingbenefits 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.

The post PenCom Extends Pension Verification Deadline for Civil Servants to December 2026 appeared first on Business Today NG.

Related Topics:Civil Deadline December extends PenCom Pension Servants Verification

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Zenith, Fidson, NEM top stock pick this week

Published

6 hours ago

October 5, 2026

PlateauReports

Nigerian stocks slightly depreciated last week, sliding by 0.5 per cent as sell pressure on bank equities weighed on the main stock index.

All but the insurance index dropped out of the five sector indexes tracked by the Nigerian Exchange.

“Investor positioning ahead of Q3:2026 earnings should provide additional support, particularly as expectations build around the Tier-1 banks’ results,” analysts at Meristem Securities said in a note to investors ahead of the week.

“The ongoing impact of Nigeria’s FTSE Russell reclassification should also keep trading activity elevated and sustain interest in eligible large-cap stocks,” they added.

The release of companies’ Q3 earnings reports is expected to begin soon.

PREMIUM TIMES has assembled some stocks with sound fundamentals, adopting rigorous approaches to save you the risk of picking equities at random for investment.

The pick, a product of an analytical market watch, offers a guide to entering the market and taking strategic positions, with the expectation that selected stocks will record reasonable price appreciation with the passage of time.

This is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation but a stock investment guide. You may need to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

READ ALSO: DN Tyre & Rubber, Greif Nigeria delisted from Nigerian Exchange

Zenith Bank

Zenith tops this week’s list for its strong fundamentals and for trading below its intrinsic value. The net profit ratio (NPR) of the lender is 21.8, while the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 5.3x. Its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is 68.

Fidson Healthcare

Fidson appears on the pick on the basis of its attractive fundamentals. The NPR of the pharmaceutical company is 7.8, while the PE ratio is 18.8x. The 14-day RSI is 51.2.

NEM Insurance

NEM makes the selection for its strong fundamentals and for trading below its intrinsic value. The insurer’s NPR is 15.7, while the PE ratio is 5.6x. Its 14-day RSI is 43.2.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings

Stanbic IBTC makes the cut for its sound fundamentals. The NPR of the banking group is 34.5, while PE ratio is 5.9x. The 14-day RSI is 69.5.

Aradel Holdings

Aradel makes the cut for its sound fundamentals. The NPR of the energy company is 28.4, while the PE ratio is 8.7x. The RSI is 50.8.

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Business

NAIPE 11th Annual Conference Moves to 12 Noon as 28 Stakeholders Back Event

Published

14 hours ago

October 5, 2026

PlateauReports

About 28 insurance and pension regulators and operators have backed the upcoming 11th edition of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) Annual Conference, scheduled to hold in Lagos.

This is even as the timing of the event scheduled to hold on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, has been shifted from 9:00am to 12:00pm same day.

This is to allow Insurance operators, who will be attending Insurers Committee meeting earlier that day, conclude their meeting and attend the conference.

The national conference with a focus on the emerging market dynamics in Nigeria’s insurance and pension sectors, follows the just concluded recapitalisation exercise in the insurance sector and ongoing exercise in the pension industry.

Themed: “Post-Recapitalisation and Market Dynamics in Insurance & Pension Sectors,” the Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Asset Management Limited, Dr. Odiri Oginni, will deliver the keynote address, focusing on the insurance perspective while Mr. Oguche Aguda,
Founder and Managing Partner of HRISP Partners, will equally deliver a paper on the theme, focusing on the pension perspective.

The Group Managing Director of Custodian Investment Plc, Mr. Wole Oshin, will chair the event.

According to NAIPE, the conference is coming at a critical period for the two sectors, as insurance operators have just concluded their recapitalisation exercise, while pension operators are expected to conclude theirs in 2027.

The high level discourse will therefore examine how funds raised through recapitalisation can be strategically invested and deployed to generate stronger returns, deepen market confidence and improve service delivery to shareholders and policyholders.

Expected dignitaries include the Commissioner for Insurance & Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin; Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran; chief executives of insurance companies, broking firms, investment and securities companies and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), as well as regulators, labour unions, students and other stakeholders.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Chairperson of NAIPE, Mrs. Ebere Nwoji said, the annual gathering provides a platform for insurance and pension journalists to contribute to the development of both sectors by promoting greater public understanding of insurance and pension as instruments for financial security and protection against old-age poverty.

Nwoji expressed appreciation to operators and regulators in the two sectors for their continued support for the conference, stressing that, the benefits derived from the annual event outweigh the resources committed to organising it.

She described this year’s theme as timely, given the significant structural changes taking place in the insurance and pension industries through recapitalisation.

She noted that, the insurance industry concluded its recapitalisation exercise on July 31, 2026, while the pension industry is currently undergoing a similar process expected to be completed next year.

The NAIPE chairperson, particularly, commended the leadership of NAICOM for successfully concluding the insurance industry’s recapitalisation exercise, describing it as a major achievement for Omosehin.

According to her, the Commissioner ‘took the bull by the horns’ in breaking what she described as the longstanding cycle of inconclusive recapitalisation exercises in the insurance industry.

She also expressed optimism that the pension industry, under the leadership of Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, would achieve a seamless and successful recapitalisation exercise.

“The conference would provide operators with an opportunity to gain insights into prudent and judicious investment of the capital raised through the recapitalisation process.

“I am confident that speakers at the event would provide practical perspectives on how insurance and pension operators can deploy their strengthened capital bases to deliver superior investment returns while enhancing value for investors, shareholders and policyholders” she affirmed.

Meanwhile, NAICOM, PenCom, SanlamAllianz, Veritas Kapital and 24 others have offered their support and partnership towards the conference.

The post NAIPE 11th Annual Conference Moves to 12 Noon as 28 Stakeholders Back Event appeared first on Business Today NG.