Key Takeaways
- • PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran told pension fund operators at the National Pension Summit in Abuja that investment returns must consistently beat inflation, stating "Beating inflation is not an aspiration; it is your job."
- • Total pension assets rose from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.8 trillion by end-August 2026, according to Oloworaran, though she said assets remain small relative to the size of the economy.
- • PenCom targets three million additional funded, active pension accounts within one year, with pension fund administrator owners reportedly committing to the goal, focused on informal-sector workers.
- • Almost 70 per cent of private-sector employees retire with pensions below the national minimum wage, and over 55 per cent of retirees below that threshold come from the private sector.
- • PenCom will enforce the June 30, 2027 recapitalisation deadline for pension fund administrators and custodians and will not extend it.
Summary
The director-general of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, charged pension fund administrators with delivering investment returns that consistently outperform inflation, saying the performance of pension assets must translate into greater financial security for Nigerian workers. Speaking in Abuja at the National Pension Summit, themed "Pensions for All," she said real returns are necessary to preserve the purchasing power of contributors' savings and warned that failure to beat inflation could weaken the retirement security of millions of workers. She stressed that operators must manage funds with prudence, transparency and fiduciary responsibility, describing pension money as "the deferred wages of Nigerian workers."
Oloworaran said pension assets could support national development through investments in infrastructure, housing, power and enterprise, but that contributors' interests must remain the priority. She cited growth in the sector, with total pension assets rising from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.8 trillion by the end of August 2026, while noting that assets remain small relative to the economy and that "we have barely begun."
PenCom announced a target of three million additional funded and active pension accounts within one year, aimed at extending the Contributory Pension Scheme beyond payroll workers to traders, artisans, farmers, entrepreneurs and others in the informal sector. Oloworaran said the owners of all pension fund administrators had committed to the target and emphasized that the goal is funded accounts rather than registrations.
Oloworaran also raised concerns about coverage and adequacy. She said almost 70 per cent of private-sector employees end up with pensions below the national minimum wage because contributions are calculated on only a fraction of earnings, and urged employers to base contributions on actual earnings and remit deductions promptly, warning that failure to remit is "theft from the future of a Nigerian family." She also called on federal and state governments to remit contributions, fund accrued pension rights and bring more states into the scheme.
Finally, she reminded administrators and custodians of the June 30, 2027 recapitalisation deadline, saying the commission would enforce it without extension.
Oloworaran said pension assets could support national development through investments in infrastructure, housing, power and enterprise, but that contributors' interests must remain the priority. She cited growth in the sector, with total pension assets rising from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.8 trillion by the end of August 2026, while noting that assets remain small relative to the economy and that "we have barely begun."
PenCom announced a target of three million additional funded and active pension accounts within one year, aimed at extending the Contributory Pension Scheme beyond payroll workers to traders, artisans, farmers, entrepreneurs and others in the informal sector. Oloworaran said the owners of all pension fund administrators had committed to the target and emphasized that the goal is funded accounts rather than registrations.
Oloworaran also raised concerns about coverage and adequacy. She said almost 70 per cent of private-sector employees end up with pensions below the national minimum wage because contributions are calculated on only a fraction of earnings, and urged employers to base contributions on actual earnings and remit deductions promptly, warning that failure to remit is "theft from the future of a Nigerian family." She also called on federal and state governments to remit contributions, fund accrued pension rights and bring more states into the scheme.
Finally, she reminded administrators and custodians of the June 30, 2027 recapitalisation deadline, saying the commission would enforce it without extension.
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