PENGASSAN calls for urgent review of pensions in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, warning that retirees’ benefits are losing value due to inflation and stagnant payouts

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has raised concerns over the diminishing value of pensions for retirees in the oil and gas industry, describing the situation as both worrisome and unsustainable.

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Speaking in Abuja at a stakeholders’ engagement on the state of closed pension fund administrators (CPFAs), PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo highlighted that retirees under the old defined benefit schemes are earning stagnant pensions that have been eroded by inflation and naira depreciation.

“We have observed with deep concern that many of our retirees are going through hardship because their pensions have remained static for years.

What they take home monthly has lost its value due to inflation and the fall of the naira,” Osifo said. He added that some retirees who left service as far back as 1990 and 2010 still earn the same pension amounts today.

While a few CPFAs periodically review benefits, about 90 per cent do not, leaving retirees dependent on the goodwill of management for adjustments.

PENGASSAN has called on the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and major oil companies—including Chevron, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and NNPC—to review actuarial assumptions and ensure fair upward adjustments to pension payments.

Osifo commended PenCom for its professionalism, urging the regulator to maintain transparency and strengthen oversight of CPFAs to guarantee long-term security for retirees.

“We still believe PenCom remains one of the most credible regulatory institutions in the country. We urge them to stay true to that reputation and protect the interests of pensioners,” he added.

Representing PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, Abdulqadir Dalhatu, Head of Investment Supervision, reassured stakeholders of the commission’s commitment to stability, compliance, and transparency across CPFAs.

Dalhatu noted that PenCom is reviewing investment guidelines to align with global best practices and exploring measures to protect retirees’ purchasing power amid inflation and exchange rate volatility.

In a keynote address, TotalEnergies CPFA Managing Director Benjamin Okeke-Agedi, represented by CFO Wale Olasoji, emphasized CPFAs’ advantages in global investment diversification and conditional investment approval.

He stressed the importance of adopting technology-driven solutions—including digital platforms, data analytics, and artificial intelligence—to improve efficiency, transparency, and risk assessment.

Okeke-Agedi further highlighted the need for CPFAs to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards into their investment strategies.

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“CPFAs must invest in impactful assets such as infrastructure and green housing to support Nigeria’s energy transition goals,” he said, calling for collaboration among employers, regulators, and unions to ensure strong governance, risk management, and sustainability across the sector.