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) entitled to accrued pension rights. The exercise, which commenced in February 2026 and was initially scheduled to end on July 31, 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) entitled to accrued pension rights.
The exercise, which commenced in February 2026 and was initially scheduled to end on July 31, 2026, will now run until December 31, 2026.
PenCom said the extension was necessitated by low participation, with only 31,099 employees completing the enrolment process as of July 2026, despite MDAs uploading 62,320 records of active employees and retirees.
The statement from the regulator said, “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…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. 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.”
The exercise is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to settle pension liabilities carried over from the Defined Benefit Scheme, which preceded the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004.
Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees who transitioned to the Contributory Pension Scheme are entitled to accrued pension rights, representing benefits earned under the former scheme.
The accrued rights comprise pension and gratuity benefits earned by eligible employees from their date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004, with the benefits determined through an actuarial valuation process.
PenCom said the one-time enrolment exercise is fully digital and is conducted through its Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), a platform designed for data capture, validation and processing.
Under the process, MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform, after which the affected employees are expected to visit their respective Pension Fund Administrators with the required documents to complete the enrolment.
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.
It added that the approved amounts would subsequently be credited to the employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts ahead of retirement, allowing the funds to earn investment returns and potentially boost their retirement benefits.
The Commission also said Pension Desk Officers, who have been trained by PenCom, are coordinating the exercise within their respective organisations and assisting eligible employees through the enrolment process.
The Commission urged eligible employees and MDAs to complete the process before the new December 31, 2026 deadline.
