Barbara Bako, Abuja.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the mandatory one time online verification and enrolment exercise for treasury funded federal civil servants entitled to accrued pension rights to December 31, 2026.
PenCom in a statement said the exercise, which began in February 2026 and was originally scheduled to end on July 31, was extended following requests from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for more time to enable eligible employees complete the enrolment process.
The commission said the extension is aimed at ensuring workers who were in service before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004 are properly captured and their accrued pension rights determined ahead of retirement.
According to PenCom, participation in the exercise has been below expectation, with MDAs uploading 62,320 records of active employees and retirees as of July 2026, while only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment process out of an estimated 150,000 eligible federal workers.
PenCom urged employees who have not started the process, as well as those who have not completed it, to use the additional time to finalise their enrolment.
The commission explained that the exercise is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to settle pension liabilities inherited from the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which was replaced by the CPS in 2004.
Under the Pension Reform Act 2014, eligible employees who transitioned from the DBS to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights covering pension and gratuity earned from their date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004.
PenCom noted that the exercise is conducted digitally through its Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA) platform, which is designed for secure data capture, validation and processing.
It added that completing the enrolment early would allow the Federal Government to determine and fund accrued pension rights, with the funds credited into workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts before retirement so they can earn investment returns.
The commission said MDAs are expected to upload eligible employees’ details on the COBRA platform, while affected workers must visit their Pension Fund Administrators with the required documents to complete the process.
PenCom also urged MDAs, Pension Desk Officers and Pension Fund Administrators to continue mobilising eligible employees to ensure the enrolment exercise is completed before the new December 31, 2026 deadline.
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