Nigeria’s pension industry has achieved a significant milestone as total annual contributions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) reached ₦1.318 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year. Data released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on January 27, 2026, shows that this figure represents a steady increase driven by higher workforce participation and a aggressive compliance drive targeting the private sector.
The public sector remains the leading contributor, accounting for roughly 54 percent of the total, while private sector remittances surged by 67.3 percent in the latter half of the year, following the enforcement of the 2025 Pension Clearance Certificate (e-PCC) requirements for government contractors.
The growth in contributions has pushed the total Pension Fund Assets Under Management (AUM) to a historic ₦26.7 trillion. This vast liquidity pool is increasingly serving as a backbone for national development, with over ₦15.9 trillion (approximately 61%) invested in Federal Government Securities.
However, 2026 marks a shift toward diversification; PenCom reported a 107 percent increase in Mutual Fund investments and a 48 percent rise in infrastructure fund allocations. This suggests that pension managers are moving beyond “safe” government bonds to seek higher real returns in an effort to beat inflation, which has begun to moderate toward 18.02 percent as of January 2026.
Regulatory reforms are also tightening the industry’s structure. To ensure long-term stability, PenCom has ordered all Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to recapitalize to a minimum of ₦20 billion by December 31, 2026.
This move is expected to trigger a wave of mergers and acquisitions, creating “mega-PFAs” with the technical capacity to manage increasingly complex portfolios. Additionally, the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) for the informal sector saw a 51 percent jump in enrollment, though actual funding of these accounts remains a challenge that the commission aims to solve through digital payment integrations and simplified mobile platforms.
As the sector matures, the focus is shifting from simple accumulation to “value protection.” The introduction of the 36-month rolling return calculation for fund performance ensures that contributors can now track how their savings are performing over the long term, rather than just reacting to monthly market swings.
With the Nigerian economy expanding by 4.23 percent in the final quarter of 2025, the pension industry is positioned as the nation’s most stable source of longa-term investment capital, providing a necessary hedge against fiscal volatility while securing the future of over 11 million Nigerian workers.
 reached ₦1.318 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year. Data released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on January 27, 2026, shows that this figure represents a steady increase driven by higher workforce participation and a aggressive compliance drive targeting the private sector.){kind=link}