By Kehinde Victor
KEY POINTS
- PenCom wants pension fund administrators to open three million additional funded active accounts within 12 months.
- Pension assets rose from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.8 trillion in August 2026.
- The commission says nearly 70% of private-sector employees retire with pensions below the national minimum wage.
- President Bola Tinubu is expected to unveil the Pension Security Initiative on November 10.
MAIN STORY
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is targeting three million additional funded active pension accounts within one year as it seeks to extend retirement savings coverage to millions of Nigerians outside the formal employment system.
The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, announced the target at the commission’s Conference and Awards in Abuja on Thursday, saying pension fund administrators had committed to opening the additional accounts.
She stressed that the target was for accounts receiving actual contributions, not simply new registrations, as the commission shifts its attention towards bringing more workers into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The expansion drive comes as PenCom seeks to address a major coverage gap. Oloworaran said that for every Nigerian covered by the pension scheme, roughly nine others remained outside it.
She identified market traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and young technology professionals as groups requiring better access to retirement savings.
To reach them, the commission plans to use personal pension funds, accredited pension agents and digital platforms to make contributions more accessible to workers outside formal employment.
THE ISSUES
While Nigeria’s pension assets have grown significantly, PenCom says the size of the fund does not tell the full story of retirement security.
Oloworaran disclosed that pension assets increased from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.8 trillion at the end of August 2026, representing growth of about N11 trillion in just over two years.
However, the commission identified three challenges: limited pension coverage, inadequate retirement benefits and employers’ failure to remit contributions as required.
On pension adequacy, Oloworaran said the pension law prescribed combined contributions of 18% of employees’ pay, comprising 10% from employers and 8% from workers.
She raised concerns that some private-sector employers use narrow definitions of pensionable earnings when calculating contributions, reducing the amount workers accumulate towards retirement.
According to her, almost 70% of private-sector employees retire with pensions below the national minimum wage, while more than 55% of retirees receiving below-minimum-wage pensions come from the private sector.
The figures highlight the gap between the growth of pension assets and the retirement income available to many workers.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“For every Nigerian inside the scheme, roughly nine more are standing outside it. This underscores the need to extend coverage to workers in the informal sector.” – Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General, PenCom.
“Pension money is not government money; it is the deferred wages of Nigerian workers.” – Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General, PenCom.
WHAT’S NEXT
Oloworaran said President Bola Tinubu would unveil the Pension Security Initiative on November 10. The initiative will include the PenCare healthcare programme and a minimum pension guarantee.
The commission also plans to require pension fund administrators and custodians to complete their recapitalisation by June 30, 2027, a move Oloworaran said would strengthen their ability to safeguard pension assets and improve investment discipline.
She urged employers to remit workers’ contributions promptly and warned that deducting pension contributions without transferring them to the relevant accounts was an offence under the pension framework. She pledged to use the powers provided by the Pension Reform Act to recover outstanding contributions.
The director-general also called on federal and state governments to remit pension contributions, fund accrued pension rights and ensure that all states join the Contributory Pension Scheme.
BOTTOM LINE
PenCom’s three-million-account target is an attempt to extend retirement savings beyond Nigeria’s formal workforce. But expanding registrations alone will not be enough. The accounts must receive regular contributions, while employers and governments must meet their pension obligations for more Nigerians to retire with adequate income.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
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