ABUJA — The National Pension Commission says approval of retirement benefits now takes 48 hours instead of up to 21 months. Speaking at a conference for journalists, Director-General Omolola Oloworaran said pension assets grew from N20.7 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in June 2026, and that 938,229 new contributors joined over the period. She said a pension increase raised the monthly payroll for more than 241,000 retirees from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion, and that N758 billion was used to clear old liabilities owed to 957,000 beneficiaries. PenCare, a free healthcare scheme for 30,000 retirees, and a minimum pension guarantee will be launched during Pension Week from 26 to 30 October. The commission has recovered N36.6 billion from employers who failed to remit contributions.