91.4% Personal Pension Accounts Remain Unfunded — PenCom

National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said about 91.4 per cent of retirement savings accounts (RSAs) registered under Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan (PPP) remained unfunded at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The Commission’s first quarter (Q1) 2026 pension industry report showed that 219,316 PPP RSAs had been registered as of March 2026. However, only 18,811 accounts, representing 8.58 per cent, had received contributions, leaving 200,505 accounts without any funding.

PPP contributions for the quarter stood at N147.16 million, bringing cumulative contributions since the inception of the scheme to N1.66 billion.

The figures highlighted the wide gap between registrations and actual funding in the voluntary pension scheme, which was designed to allow self-employed persons and individuals in the informal sector to save toward retirement.

The report also showed that N11.12 million was withdrawn contingently in the first quarter by 15 Personal Pension Contributors (PPCs) through four Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). Cumulative contingent withdrawals stood at N124.30 million, involving 346 PPCs.

In terms of market share, AccessARM Pension led new registrations during the quarter with a 33.64 per cent share. Its cumulative market share stood at 52.4 per cent of all PPP RSAs registered to date.

While the PPP segment recorded low funding, Nigeria’s broader pension industry continued to expand. PenCom’s unaudited industry report showed that total pension assets reached a record N31.32 trillion in May 2026.

The May figure represented a 1.23 per cent increase from N30.94 trillion recorded in April, an addition of approximately N384.98 billion in one month. On a year-on-year basis, total pension assets rose 29.5 per cent from N24.18 trillion in May 2025.

PenCom also reported that the number of new RSAs registered under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) rose by 24.7 per cent to 143,248 in Q1 2026, up from 114,864 in the preceding quarter.

The commission said it is currently reviewing Nigeria’s pension framework to strengthen contributions and broaden the role of pension assets in the economy.

In July, PenCom disclosed plans to increase statutory pension contribution rates as part of an ongoing review of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

Under the current framework, employers contribute a minimum of 10 per cent of an employee’s monthly emoluments while employees contribute eight per cent, bringing the total mandatory rate to 18 per cent.

PenCom indicated that this rate could be increased under the proposed reforms.

The Commission said it is also developing plans for a new investment vehicle that could channel part of Nigeria’s pension assets into critical infrastructure projects.

The PPP data suggested that while awareness and registration are growing, converting registered accounts into actively funded retirement savings remains a major challenge for the Commission.