For two years now, Lilian Aderoju, a retiree in one of the Abuja-based federal government agencies, can hardly feed herself or pay her son’s tuition fees at the University of Jos.

As a widow, she had hoped that she would continue life with her pensions after working for 35 years in an agency of government, having earlier joined the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004.

However, her hope was dashed when the federal government – her employer – delayed payment of her pension-accrued rights, with backlog owed retirees running into billions of naira.

Accrued rights are accumulated pension benefits for employees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government from their date of first employment up to June 30, 2004.

“How can I be begging for money to feed myself and my only son after working for over 30 years for the government of Nigeria?” aggrieved Aderoju asked.

In 2024, about 19,073 beneficiaries were paid a total of N77.47 billion, and a year-on-year comparison indicates a 19.4 percent increase from N64.88 billion paid in 2023.

Similarly, the number of beneficiaries paid in 2024 increased by 15.5 percent when compared with the 16,515 beneficiaries who received payments in 2023, according to data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

In the fourth quarter of 2024 period, 15,686 beneficiaries were paid N62.69 billion.

Accrued rights payment from inception to December 31, 2024, stood at N1.14 trillion in favour of 250,342 beneficiaries, PenCom said in its latest report on the position of Nigeria’s pension industry.

In January 2025, the federal government released N22 billion for accrued pension rights of its employees that retired between October 2023 and January 2024.

PenCom said, “The disbursed funds have been applied to settle the accrued pension rights of retirees who were duly verified and enrolled, covering the period October 2023 to January 2024, as well as some deceased employees.

“Accordingly, the remittances have been credited directly to the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of the affected retirees through their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).”

The commission urged all affected retirees to contact their PFAs to complete the necessary documentation to access their retirement benefits.

In spite of these amounts released, several pensioners are yet to receive payments since January 2024.

“Many of us are struggling because we have been owed by the government for several months now,” said Theresa Obuh, who worked in one of the federal government agencies.

“We can’t buy things we need without calling our children or relatives.”

One of the pensioners who pleaded anonymity said he cannot imagine suffering in his old age after laboring for the nation during his active life.

“This is not good for the country. How can we beg for our money after working for 35 years? Where does the government want us to get money for our daily upkeep?” he asked.

FG to issue bonds to clear arrears

The federal government said recently that it will issue bonds worth N758 billion to clear accumulated pension debts.

This includes debts owed under the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) before the introduction of the CPS in 2004, according to Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy.

Edun confirmed this during a briefing with State House correspondents after the 23rd Federal Executive Council held in Abuja.

These liabilities, he explained, have accumulated over the years due to periodic wage increases, noting that clearing them will grant long-overdue relief to affected pensioners.

“That is to clear up the backlog of pension liabilities owed various categories of pensioners who are owed funds under the defined benefit system that preceded the defined contributions, the Contributory Pension Scheme that came into force in 2004 and was updated with a new act in 2014,” Edun had said. (Business Day)