Retirement security cannot be left to individual savings and pension planning alone, as workers also need effective institutional protection against workplace injuries, occupational diseases, disability and loss of earning capacity during their productive years, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has said.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Oluwaseun Faleye, stated this at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit policy dialogue in Abuja, warning that retirement planning must begin long before workers exit employment.

Speaking on the theme, “Between Duty and Delivery,” Faleye said pensions and personal savings, while essential, could not provide a complete social protection system if workers remained exposed to occupational risks and inadequate compensation.

He said the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS), administered by NSITF, formed part of the retirement and social protection continuum by providing compensation, medical care, rehabilitation, survivor benefits and return-to-work support for workers affected by employment-related injuries, diseases, disability and death.

According to him, NSITF’s coverage has risen from more than 7.6 million workers as at July 2026 to over 7.8 million, reflecting efforts to move beyond registration towards sustained participation and compliance.

He said the Fund was strengthening collaboration with Federal and State Governments, regulators, employers and informal-sector organisations to expand effective coverage.

Faleye also cited the onboarding of Treasury-funded Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as a major step, saying claims payments began less than four months after the integration process started.

He disclosed that the first batch of five beneficiaries from the Treasury-funded MDAs received payments on August 4, 2026.

He stressed, however, that registration alone did not constitute protection, arguing that effective social insurance must connect registration and assessment with contributions, accurate worker data, claims processing, and timely payment of benefits.

The NSITF boss said the Fund had also reduced its average claims turnaround time from 14 days to 10 days, but acknowledged the need to deepen coverage, strengthen compliance and improve institutional coordination.

He said families and dependants must remain central to social protection, particularly where workers die from employment-related incidents and leave dependants without income.

“Workers should plan for retirement and understand their entitlements, but a worker cannot individually insure against an employer’s non-compliance or build a claims system,” he said.

The NSITF boss maintained that responsibility for retirement security should be shared among government, institutions, employers and workers, with government providing the regulatory architecture, employers complying with social insurance obligations and maintaining safe workplaces, and workers actively participating in available protection schemes.

Faleye said prevention must also complement compensation, noting that NSITF’s workplace inspection, accident investigation and safety advocacy programmes were designed to reduce workplace accidents and preserve workers’ earning capacity.

“Between duty and delivery is where trust is won. For the Nigerian worker, social protection must be more than a statutory promise on paper. It must be felt when a worker is injured, when a family loses a breadwinner, when rehabilitation is needed, and when a worker approaches retirement,” he said.