PenCom flags slow uptake of personal pension plan despite informal sector push

…says poor pension awareness slows informal sector enrolment

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has acknowledged that Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan (PPP) is yet to gain significant traction among informal sector workers, attributing the slow uptake to low pension awareness and limited financial literacy despite sustained efforts to expand pension coverage.

Speaking at the third Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) meeting and press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Omolola Oloworaran, director-general of PenCom, said the commission had made pension inclusion one of its top priorities but admitted that enrolment under the voluntary scheme remains below expectations.

According to her, PenCom had hoped to bring one million women into the Personal Pension Plan but is still far from achieving that target, underscoring the challenge of extending pension coverage beyond Nigeria’s formal workforce.

“I was hoping that we would get one million women on board, but we haven’t gotten close to that. The numbers are still very low, which is why I spoke about awareness and pension literacy,” Oloworaran said.

The Personal Pension Plan was introduced to extend retirement savings to self-employed Nigerians and workers in the informal sector who are not covered by the mandatory Contributory Pension Scheme. The initiative targets traders, artisans, transport operators, professionals, small business owners and other individuals outside formal employment.

Oloworaran said PenCom is intensifying engagement with informal sector groups, including market women associations and transport unions, while working through accredited pension agents to take pension education to communities across the country.

“We’re engaging associations one after another and working on how we can take pension awareness and literacy to ordinary Nigerians,” she said.

She explained that the commission is also developing partnerships and incentives that will encourage more informal sector workers to enrol, noting that behavioural change and public trust would take time to build.

“A lot of work has to go into these initiatives before we begin to see results,” she said, adding that she remained optimistic the programme would gather momentum over the next two years.

The informal sector has the biggest growth opportunity for Nigeria’s pension industry. Although the Contributory Pension Scheme has recorded steady growth since its introduction, coverage remains largely concentrated among workers in the public sector and formal private businesses, leaving millions of self-employed Nigerians without structured retirement savings.

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PenCom believes improving pension literacy will be critical to changing that trend.

To strengthen public awareness, the commission announced that it will host Nigeria’s first National Pension Week from September 15 to 19. The event is expected to bring together regulators, pension fund administrators, employers, contributors, retirees and other stakeholders to promote financial literacy and deepen public understanding of the pension system.

Oloworaran said the initiative would also support accountability and transparency within the industry while encouraging more Nigerians to embrace long-term retirement planning.

Beyond the awareness campaign, PenCom said it is pursuing broader reforms aimed at making pension products more attractive. These include expanding access to the PenCare healthcare initiative for retirees, strengthening the industry’s participation in the capital market, advancing the proposed pension industry infrastructure fund and reviewing the Pension Reform Act to align it with emerging realities.

She stressed that while the commission would continue to improve pension products and incentives, increasing participation would ultimately depend on sustained public education and collaboration with associations representing millions of informal sector workers across the country.

“Our responsibility is to continue taking the pension message to every corner of the country so that more Nigerians understand the benefits of saving for retirement,” Oloworaran said.