The Nationwide Pension Fee has renewed its drive to increase Nigeria’s retirement financial savings protection by concentrating on tens of hundreds of thousands of informal-sector employees by way of a redesigned micro-pension scheme.
PenCom’s Director-Normal, Omolola Oloworaran, mentioned the revamped initiative—now working because the Private Pension Plan, is vital to closing the nation’s widening pension hole.
Talking in Abuja on Thursday on the Annual Convention of the Pension Correspondents Affiliation of Nigeria, Oloworaran, represented by the Head of Company Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, defined that the brand new framework was launched to deal with the shortcomings that hindered the success of the 2019 Micro Pension Plan.
She famous that “Nigeria’s casual workforce is estimated at between 70 and 80 million folks,” including that the low participation ranges within the preliminary programme—about 200,000 contributors with roughly $1bn in belongings—have been “far beneath the size of the problem.”
“For much too lengthy, many of those people have had little or no entry to structured pension preparations,” she mentioned, warning that artisans, merchants, freelancers, and gig-economy employees who maintain each day {economic} actions stay with out formal retirement safety.
In keeping with her, the reworked plan accommodates employees with irregular incomes, permits entry from age 18, and allows versatile, digital contributions by way of a number of channels. Every contribution, she mentioned, shall be divided into an emergency and a long-term financial savings portion to make sure liquidity with out discouraging participation.
Oloworaran emphasised that PenCom is leveraging know-how to construct transparency and belief.
“Contributors obtain prompt acknowledgement of their contributions and have real-time entry to their statements,” she mentioned, noting that Pension Fund Directors and Accredited Pension Brokers will deploy mobile-friendly instruments for onboarding.
She added that contributions underneath the PPP shall be managed by way of a devoted funding construction with conservative and progress choices suited to contributors’ preferences.
Oloworaran urged journalists to assist the sensitisation effort, saying, “Assist increase consciousness in regards to the PPP and clarify it in easy and relatable phrases.”
Additionally talking on the occasion, the Performing Chief Govt Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Affiliation of Nigeria, Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, mentioned the PPP was very important to closing the long-standing hole that excluded hundreds of thousands of casual employees.
She described pensions as “social contracts that translate many years of labour into dignity, safety, and independence,” warning that Nigeria can not obtain social stability with out increasing pension protection past the formal sector.
In keeping with Ifeanyi-Okoro, the PPP gives “a sensible pathway to inclusion,” because it affords versatile contributions, digital entry, and portability for employees with irregular incomes. She mentioned the design, backed by shopper training and trusted brokers, would “flip hundreds of thousands of casual employees from pension outsiders into pension members.”
She added that extending protection by way of the PPP is “an funding in Nigeria’s social and {economic} future,” stressing the purpose of guaranteeing that each employee can stay up for a safe and dignified retirement.
The President of the Pension Correspondents Affiliation of Nigeria, Nana Musa, mentioned the dialog on pension inclusion had grow to be pressing since “over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce” operates within the casual sector with out entry to formal social safety.
Musa mentioned the convention sought to reinforce collaboration amongst regulators, operators, policymakers, and the media to make pension participation extra enticing. Whereas commending PenCom for its reforms, she emphasised that “a lot stays to be finished,” notably in consciousness creation and technology-driven enrolment.
PenCom’s newest information present that the Private Pension Plan grew from ₦185.18 million in August 2021 to ₦1.58 billion in August 2025, reflecting sustained progress in participation and belongings.
The Micro Pension Plan was not too long ago relaunched because the Private Pension Plan by the regulator with a purpose to entice extra casual employees and volunteer contributors within the formal sector to take part.