Nigeria’s pension fund has grown by 19 per cent year-on-year to hit N23.33tn at the end of the first quarter of 2025, The PUNCH can report.
According to an analysis of the monthly data from the National Pension Commission, the pension industry has consistently risen over the first three months of the year. From N22.51 tn as of the close of 2024, the fund rose to N22.86 tn in January and hit the N23.27 tn mark by the end of February. At the close of March 2025, the latest monthly summary from PenCom revealed that the funds rose by N61.91bn to N23.33tn.
Despite the increase in the nominal value of the funds compared to the end of the first quarter of 2024, Retirement Savings Accounts remained under 11 million. As of March 2025, RSA registration stood at 10,689,846, about a 3.98 per cent increase year on year.
To boost participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme, the regulator has set its sights on bringing in more workers in the informal sector of the Nigerian economy.
Speaking at the inaugural Pension Industry Leadership Retreat held in Lagos under the theme ‘Sustainable Retirement – Strategic Blueprint for Economic Development and Inclusion, the Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, said of the over 77 million informal sector workers, less than 10,000 of them are active contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
“We would look for opportunities to incentivise the informal sector to participate in the pension scheme,” Oloworaran said.
This call has been backed by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi.
He said, “Our work is far from complete. Retirement security must extend beyond formal employment to include the informal sector, the market traders, the artisans, and the good economic workers who form the backbone of our economy. To achieve true economic inclusion, we must develop innovative pension solutions that are accessible, trustworthy, and sustainable for all Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, the new online pension contribution remittance system has gone live. PenCom has insisted that the remittance of pension contributions would only be through the approved payment solutions service providers starting June 1.
Via its social media platforms, the regulator said, “With the Pension Contribution Remittance System, your employees’ pension remittance is hassle-free, 100 per cent digital, and all that is required is to select your preferred payment solution service providers now and start remitting.”
PenCom indicated that some employers have made the shift ahead of the compliance date.
The service providers include Paypen by Netline Limited, Pencentral by Chamsaccess Limited, Pensphere (formerly Paythru) by Pethahiah Rehoboth Int’l Limited, Penremit by Cyberspace Limited, Pensol by Uniswitch Technology Limited, Penco by Gemspay Solutions Limited, Awabah by Awabah Remit Services Limited, Epcoss by Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement Systems Plc and Interswitch by Interswitch Group.
Under the new arrangement, PenCom said that “Employers can now upload employees’ schedules and make payments of their pension contributions online from the comfort of their homes or offices. The PCRS is free and comes at no cost to the employer.
“The PCRS ensures that pension remittance schedules uploaded by employers are accurate and employee personal identification numbers and pension fund administrators are verified with PenCom before remittances are processed.”
