The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has raised concerns over the weak growth of pension benefits and widening inequality among retirees in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking at a one-day summit in Abuja on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said many retirees under the Closed Pension Fund Administrations (CPFAs) are trapped in outdated systems that fail to reflect Nigeria’s inflationary realities.
Osifo noted that while some companies periodically adjust pensions, the majority rely on management discretion, leaving retirees struggling as their fixed benefits lose value amid naira depreciation and rising living costs.
He traced the challenge to policy gaps in the country’s pension system, explaining that the 2004 Pension Reform Act allowed some oil and gas firms to maintain the defined benefits model, even after the 2014 amendment barred new employees from joining it.
“Over time, we have realised that there is a serious gap in the system. In many organisations, people who retired several years ago still earn the same amount, even though the cost of living has skyrocketed,” Osifo said.
He added that only about 10 percent of CPFAs review pensions yearly, while the remaining 90 percent maintain stagnant payments.
Osifo urged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to strengthen oversight and ensure pension funds remain adequate for both current and future retirees. He also criticised inconsistent fund calculations by some companies, warning that unchecked practices could threaten long-term pension sustainability.
The labour leader pledged continued advocacy and engagement with management of defaulting CPFAs to ensure fairness for pensioners, saying the union is committed to protecting those who laboured for the sector’s growth.
The summit, themed “The Future of Pension in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,” gathered labour veterans, pension administrators, and other stakeholders to review reform options for sustainable retirement benefits.
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