The Director-General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this during a briefing in Abuja, where she reviewed the Commission’s achievements over the past two years and outlined its plans for the future of Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
According to Oloworaran, the Commission is working towards creating investment frameworks that will allow pension assets to play a greater role in national development by funding productive sectors without compromising the financial security of contributors.
She highlighted that pension assets recorded significant growth during the period, with N10.7 trillion in new retirement savings injected into the economy over the last two years.
The growth pushed total pension assets under management to N31.48 trillion as of July 10, 2026, representing a 51 per cent increase from N20.79 trillion recorded in July 2024.
Oloworaran attributed the expansion to improved recovery of unpaid pension contributions, more flexible investment strategies, stronger compliance measures and increased collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
She said the Commission’s focus would remain on protecting contributors’ funds while exploring opportunities that would deliver stronger economic impact.
“We are refining our investment frameworks to ensure pension assets can support national priorities such as infrastructure, energy, healthcare and agriculture, while maintaining competitive returns for contributors,” she stated.
Looking ahead, PenCom announced three major initiatives expected to shape the next phase of pension administration in Nigeria.
The first is a healthcare initiative scheduled for launch within three months. The programme will begin with a pilot scheme designed to provide free health insurance coverage for 30,000 low-income retirees aged 60 years and above who earn N150,000 or less monthly.
The Commission said the programme would later be expanded nationwide to improve access to healthcare among vulnerable retirees.
The second initiative is the proposed Minimum Pension Guarantee, a structural framework aimed at ensuring that no retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme receives income below a guaranteed basic threshold.
The third initiative focuses on expanding pension coverage within the informal sector through the rollout of the Personal Pension Plan and a network of Accredited Pension Agents.
The initiative is expected to bring more traders, artisans, transport workers and fintech users into the pension system while also creating employment opportunities through the agent network.
Beyond asset growth, PenCom reported a significant increase in pension coverage, with 938,229 new contributors joining the CPS within the last two years.
The increase raised the total number of registered pension contributors from 10.42 million to 11.32 million workers.
The Commission also highlighted several measures introduced to improve retirees’ welfare, including Pension Boost 1.0, which increased aggregate monthly pension payments by 22 per cent.
The intervention raised total monthly pension distributions from N12.2 billion to N14.9 billion.
PenCom also implemented consequential adjustments for more than 195,000 eligible treasury-funded retirees who retired on or before July 29, 2024. The beneficiaries received a monthly increase of N32,000 to align their pensions with the revised national minimum wage.
In addition, the Commission announced the completion of a long-awaited review of pensions under the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), marking the first upward adjustment for NSITF retirees in 21 years.
The review resulted in pension increases of up to 1,173 per cent for some beneficiaries and included the payment of N8.7 billion in outstanding arrears owed to 2,116 retirees.
PenCom said the reforms are part of broader efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s pension ecosystem, expand financial inclusion and ensure that retirement savings contribute meaningfully to economic growth while safeguarding the interests of pension contributors.