*The National Pension Commission indicates that only 18,811 accounts, representing 8.58 percent, has received contributions out of the total 219,316 Personal Pension Plan registered, leaving 200,505 accounts without any funding as of March 2026
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said about 91.4 percent of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) registered under Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan (PPP) remained unfunded as of the end of the First Quarter (Q1) 2026.
The PenCom Q1 2026 industry report indicated that 219,316 PPP RSAs had been registered as of March 2026.
The report, however, showed that only 18,811 accounts, representing 8.58 percent, had received contributions, leaving 200,505 accounts without any funding.
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PPP contributions for the quarter stood at N147.16 million, bringing cumulative contributions since the inception of the scheme to N1.66 billion.
Besides, the figures highlighted the wide gap between registrations and actual funding in the voluntary pension scheme.
ConsumerConnect reports the pension scheme was designed to allow self-employed persons and individuals in the informal sector of the Nigerian economy to save towards retirement.
The PenCom report further indicated that N11.12 million was withdrawn contingently in the First Quarter by 15 Personal Pension Contributors (PPCs) through four Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
Cumulative contingent withdrawals stood at N124.30 million, involving 346 PPCs.
In terms of market share, AccessARM Pension led new registrations during the quarter with a 33.64 percent share.
The company’s cumulative market share stood at 52.4 percent of all PPP RSAs registered to date.
While the PPP segment recorded low funding, the country’s broader pension industry is said to have continued expanding.
PenCom’s unaudited industry report showed that total pension assets reached a record N31.32 trillion in May 2026.
The May 2026 figure represented a 1.23 percent increase from N30.94 trillion recorded in April, an addition of approximately N384.98 billion in one month.
On a year-on-year basis, total pension assets rose 29.5 percent from N24.18 trillion May 2025.
PenCom also reported that the number of new RSAs registered under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) rose by 24.7 percent to 143,248 in Q1 2026, up from 114,864 in the preceding quarter.
The Commission as well disclosed that it was reviewing Nigeria’s pension framework to strengthen contributions and broaden the role of pension assets in the economy.
In July this year, PenCom disclosed plans to increase statutory pension contribution rates as part of an ongoing review of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.
Under the current framework, employers contribute a minimum of 10 percent of an employee’s monthly emoluments while employees contribute eight percent, bringing the total mandatory rate to 18 percent.
PenCom indicated that this rate could be increased under the proposed reforms.
The pension regulatory Commission said it was also developing plans for a new investment vehicle that could channel part of Nigeria’s pension assets into critical infrastructure projects.
The PPP data suggested that while awareness and registration are growing, converting registered accounts into actively funded retirement savings remains a major challenge for the Commission.