Aisha Dahir-Umar, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), has encouraged informal sector workers to adopt the Micro Pension Plan (MPP). Speaking at the commission’s special day at the Lagos International Trade Fair organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dahir-Umar, represented by Sola Adeseun, the Head of the South West Zonal Office, emphasized the importance of raising awareness about the MPP.
Dahir-Umar stated, “Participating at the trade fair is just one of our strategies in creating awareness on the MPP. Aside from this, PenCom also reaches out to market women across the country to have sessions with them, so that they can also contribute to the micro pension plan to have something to fall back on in their retirement age.”
Highlighting the acceptance of the MPP in Lagos, she mentioned that the zonal office is intensifying efforts to enhance awareness within the South West geo-political zone.
Dauda Ahmed, the Head of the Micro Pensions Department at PenCom, explained that the MPP, introduced by the Pension Reform Act 2014, allows individuals working in organizations with fewer than three employees and self-employed individuals to voluntarily participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme, enabling them to save for retirement.
Ahmed noted, “The MPP presents a significant opportunity for workers in the informal sector to secure their future through retirement savings.” He reported an increased awareness level among artisans, entrepreneurs, and participants in the informal sector, with over 97,000 contributors enrolling in the MPP in the last few months.
Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, the President of LCCI, commended the pension industry’s success, with total pension assets reaching N17.35 trillion as of September 2023 and a contributors’ base of approximately 10.1 million people. Despite these achievements, he highlighted challenges such as inconsistent policies, delays in pension and gratuity payments, a high number of defaulting employers, and weak enforcement of non-compliance with the pension Act that need to be addressed for the sector’s continued progress.
