The Federal Government has announced that detailed guidelines for the implementation of a 100 per cent gratuity payment for retiring federal civil servants will be made public shortly.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, made the disclosure on Friday during a press briefing in Abuja, noting that disbursement will begin immediately after the release of the framework.
She explained that the scheme will apply to officers who retired from January 1, 2026, as well as those who will retire thereafter.
Walson-Jack recalled that the policy had earlier been communicated in an official circular, which indicated that implementation guidelines would follow. She assured that the document is nearing completion and will be released soon to enable prompt payment to eligible retirees.
She said, “Once the guidelines are out, payments will commence for those who retired from January 1 and for subsequent retirees.”
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, stated that retirees with complete documentation could receive their entitlements within 72 hours of exiting service.
According to her, the process has been streamlined to ensure efficiency, provided all required enrolment steps are completed.
Oloworaran also revealed that government is working on introducing a minimum pension guarantee aimed at improving the welfare of retirees on lower monthly pensions, ensuring they can maintain a decent standard of living after retirement.
She added that regulatory oversight of Pension Fund Administrators has been strengthened to protect pension assets and enhance investment returns. Plans are also underway to introduce a one-time enrolment system to speed up the processing of accrued rights and allow earlier investment of pension contributions.
She urged civil servants to complete their enrolment promptly once the official circular is issued, noting that the reforms are designed to reduce delays and improve retirement benefits for public workers.
The policy is expected to significantly reshape retirement benefits administration in the federal civil service going forward.