More than 92% of personal pension savings accounts are still unfunded.

By Rosemary Iwunze

Despite the National Pension Commission’s (PenCom) push to bring informal sector workers into the pension system, the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) has shown little progress.

The PPP currently has 215,412 registered Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), but only 17,320 of those—just 8.0 percent—have received any contributions. The remaining 198,092 RSAs, or 92.0 percent, remain dormant.

In its fourth‑quarter 2025 report, PenCom warned that registrations alone do not equate to savings, and that a lack of funding creates a misleading impression of inclusion.

To address the issue, PenCom said it will: “accelerate engagement and onboarding under the Accredited Pension Agent framework; activate accredited agents; deepen distribution partnerships with cooperatives, fintechs, telcos, trade unions, and professional associations; and drive sustained sensitisation campaigns to bring informal sector workers, MSMEs, gig workers, and self‑employed Nigerians onto the Personal Pension Plan.”

Regarding the adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by state governments, PenCom noted that progress stalled in Q4 ’25. “The position is more uneven than a simple Bureau count conveys. Only eight states are fully compliant with the CPS. A further seventeen states have passed pension reform legislation but have not yet moved to implementation; a population that should now be the principal focus of bilateral compliance engagement. Jigawa State runs a fully implemented Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme. Kano State, despite progress on enabling legislation, is operating outside the regulatory architecture: its pension funds are still held with commercial banks rather than being placed under licensed Pension Fund Administrators.”

Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, said the overarching goal of the pension scheme is to build a resilient system. “Our objective is clear, to build a market that works efficiently and sustainably for all pension contributors.”

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