Pension Assets Hit N31.32trn

Nigeria’s pension assets grew by 29.5 per cent year-on-year to N31.32 trillion in May 2026, underscoring the sustained expansion of the country’s pension industry despite prevailing economic headwinds.

The latest unaudited report released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for the month ended May 31, 2026, showed that total pension assets increased from N24.18 trillion recorded in May 2025 to N31.32 trillion.

On a month-on-month basis, pension assets rose by 1.23 per cent from N30.94 trillion in April 2026, representing an addition of approximately N384.98 billion within the month.

The growth was largely driven by elevated yields on Federal Government securities and money market instruments, which continued to provide strong returns for Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

According to PenCom, investments in Federal Government bonds, treasury bills and Sukuk instruments climbed to N17.48 trillion, reaffirming the pension industry’s position as one of Nigeria’s largest sources of long-term domestic capital for financing government debt and supporting capital market development.

A breakdown of the portfolio showed that investments in federal government bonds held to maturity stood at N13.48 trillion, while treasury bills accounted for N1.13 trillion. Investments in state government securities amounted to N361.53 billion, while Sukuk bonds held to maturity stood at N77.64 billion.

The report also indicated that investments in money market instruments rose to N3.01 trillion, while mutual fund investments stood at N271 billion.

PenCom noted that high yields on government securities continued to underpin asset growth, even as gains in the equities market moderated.

The May performance extended the strong growth trajectory recorded since the beginning of the year. Pension assets rose to N28.04 trillion in January 2026, up from N27.46 trillion in December 2025. Assets increased further to N29.43 trillion in February, N29.53 trillion in March and N30.94 trillion in April.

Data earlier released by PenCom also showed that PFAs significantly increased their exposure to the Nigerian equities market during the first quarter of 2026.

Investments in domestic ordinary shares rose to N5.46 trillion as of March 2026, compared with N3.96 trillion at the end of 2025, representing a 38.09 per cent year-to-date increase.

The development reflects improving investor confidence, stronger market performance and deliberate efforts by PFAs to diversify investment portfolios beyond traditional fixed-income assets.

Analysts said the pension industry has continued to benefit from the prevailing high-interest-rate environment, which has boosted returns on government securities and money market instruments.

They expressed optimism that pension assets would sustain their upward trajectory in the coming months, supported by continued pension contributions, investment income and increased participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme.