PenCom Mobilises $250m For Infrastructure, Targets 85m Informal Workers

BY BUKOLA ARO-LAMBO and OLUSHOLA BELLO, Lagos

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has mobilised a $250 million commitment for infrastructure investment, with pension fund operators providing $200 million and development finance institutions expected to contribute another $50 million.

The commission also disclosed plans to bring about 85 million Nigerians in the informal sector into the pension system by simplifying registration requirements for workers in the sector to just a phone number and a National Identification Number (NIN).

Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this yesterday at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos, saying the first tranche of the infrastructure investment was expected to be deployed before the end of the first quarter of 2027.

She said the $250 million commitment represented the first time Nigeria’s pension industry would jointly commit funds to infrastructure, adding that the initiative was designed to support productive investment while securing sustainable returns for pension contributors.

Oloworaran said the pension industry would commit $200 million to infrastructure investment over the next 10 years, with $50 million to come from development finance institutions, with which discussions were ongoing.

“For the first time, Nigeria’s pension industry has jointly committed its own funds to infrastructure. The council has endorsed the first launch of a $250 million pension industry infrastructure investment.

“$200 million from pension fund operators as arrears invested through cash holds over the next 10 years, and a further $50 million from development finance institutions with whom discussions are ongoing. So that’s a total of $250 million commitment,” she said.

According to her, the specific infrastructure projects to receive the funds were still being finalised, and she stressed that the commitment would grow as more viable investment opportunities emerged.

“Now this is the beginning. It is not the end. As sound opportunities grow, so will this commitment,” Oloworaran said.

She explained that the investment programme would pursue two objectives: providing productive capital for the Nigerian economy and securing sustainable returns for pension contributors.

“Nigeria needs productive investment. Contributors need secure returns. We will serve both through rigorous project selection and uncompromising protection of contributors’ interests,” she said.

The PenCom boss disclosed that pension assets increased from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in July 2026, representing an increase of more than N10.7 trillion in retirement wealth.

She added that 938,229 Nigerians joined the Contributory Pension Scheme within the same period.

Oloworaran said pension funds were increasingly being diversified into investments in Nigeria and real assets as the industry sought to improve retirement outcomes for contributors.

“Every naira invested well at home strengthens two futures at once: the retirees’ future and the nation at large,” she added.

Meanwhile, PenCom’s Head of Micro Pension Department, Babatunde Alayande, disclosed that the commission had simplified the registration process for informal sector workers by reducing the documentation required to a phone number and NIN.

He said the move was aimed at expanding pension coverage to about 85 million Nigerians in the informal sector who currently lack adequate retirement protection.

Alayande said artisans, traders, vulcanisers, fashion designers and self-employed professionals could now open Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) under the Personal Pension Plan (PPP).

He explained that the plan was introduced following the replacement of the micro-pension guidelines in October 2025, pursuant to Section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which provides access to pensions for self-employed persons and workers in organisations with fewer than three employees.

According to him, the PPP was specifically designed to address the peculiarities of the informal sector, which accounts for 93 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce and is largely characterised by the absence of formal employment contracts and low, irregular, and scattered incomes.

He said the PPP allows contributors to split their RSA into two portions, with 40 per cent allocated to a contingent portion that can be accessed for emergencies, while 60 per cent is preserved strictly for retirement.

“Under the plan, RSA is split into two, 40 per cent in the contingent portion accessible for emergencies, and 60 per cent preserved strictly for retirement. Contributors can retire from age 50 and take benefits as lump sum or programmed withdrawal,” Alayande said.

He said fewer than 10 per cent of informal sector workers were covered by any form of social security programme, stressing that contributions under the PPP would also be invested to support economic growth.

Alayande said the scheme would promote a savings culture and provide contributors with a decent standard of living in old age, while incentives such as matching contributions would be used to encourage sustained participation.

He added that PenCom had licensed corporate organisations and fintech companies as micro-pension agents to drive enrolment in markets and underserved communities.

According to him, the commission is also developing gender-sensitive and Shariah-compliant pension products to deepen financial inclusion and bring more Nigerians into the formal retirement savings system.