PenCom Launches Awabah, Targets Pension Expansion To 75m Informal Sector Players

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, has described personal pensions as “vital national economic infrastructure” as the commission launched Awabah as Nigeria’s first Accredited Pension Agent.

The move is aimed at deepening pension inclusion and expanding access to personal pension schemes across the country, particularly among self-employed Nigerians and workers in the informal sector.

Speaking at the executive launch themed, “Building Financial Resilience: Securing the Future with Personal Pensions,” Oloworaran emphasised that closing the pension gap for informal workers is “the next frontier of pension reform.”

She noted that while Nigeria’s pension assets now exceed N27 trillion with over 10 million Retirement Savings Accounts, the system has mainly secured formal workers. “According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 93 percent of our workforce is informal. More than 75 million Nigerians,” she said, adding that most retire with no savings or safety net.

The DG explained that the accredited pension agent regulation introduced in September last year aims to bridge this gap through trusted community representatives who can collect micro-contributions and build confidence. “Accredited Pension Agents are our bridge to the informal economy. They will take pensions to markets, villages, motor parks, farms, and workshops.”

Oloworaran highlighted that technology would be crucial, allowing traders to save N500 from their phones and mechanics to contribute weekly without leaving their workshops. She added that pension contributions remain tax-deductible.

“If 2004 secured pensions for the formal worker, this decade must secure pensions for the informal majority,” she declared, aligning the initiative with President Bola Tinubu’s inclusive growth agenda.

CEO of Awabah, Tunji Andrew said with the licence now secured, Awabah plans to leverage existing payment infrastructure to simplify pension registration and contribution processes nationwide.

Awabah’s core mandate is to provide pension benefits for workers across the entire economic spectrum, with a strong focus on personal pension plans.

“We are celebrating the award of our licence from the National Pension Commission as an accredited pension agent,” he said. “What our job basically has to do is to drive personal pension penetration across Nigeria.”

On its growth targets, the company disclosed plans to register five million customers in 2026.

One of the key innovations, he said, is the integration of personal pension onboarding with Point of Sale (POS) terminals.

“We are trying to ensure that customers across the country can go to a POS terminal and onboard to personal pensions in very easy clicks,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be an Android POS. It could be any type of POS.” Awabah is partnership with Moniepoint on the new project.

He added that the vision is to allow Nigerians to contribute to their pensions and set up direct debits from any POS terminal across the country.

Awabah is rolling out the initiative in partnership with payment service providers, including Moniepoint, which was represented at the event.

Under the model, contributors can visit a POS terminal, select an amount, and authorise automatic monthly deductions.

“You do it once and you forget about it,” he said.

Beyond contributions, the Awabah team lead said the company is also focused on making pension withdrawals under the personal pension plan framework seamless.

He explained that contributors are allowed to withdraw up to 50 per cent of their pension contributions after the first three months, in line with existing regulations.

“We want that withdrawal to be as seamless as possible. Just the same way you go to an ATM, put in your card and collect your money, we want pensions to work that way,” he said.

The scheme targets self-employed individuals, gig workers, traders and artisans, while also allowing salaried workers with existing Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) to open additional personal pension accounts.