Pension assets rose 51% to N31.48tn in two years – PenCom DG

Nigeria’s pension assets have increased by 51 per cent over the past two years, rising from N20.7tn to N31.48tn, according to the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran.

Oloworaran disclosed this on Tuesday during the Meet the Press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, attributing the growth to renewed public confidence in the country’s contributory pension scheme.

She said the increase represents N10.7tn in additional retirement savings accumulated within the period.

“Every successful pension system on Earth is built on a simple foundation: confidence. Confidence that contributions are safe, confidence that institutions work, confidence that after decades of honest labour, retirement will bring security, not uncertainty,” she said.

Two years ago, that confidence needed restoring. Today, the verdict is in.

“Pension assets have grown from N20.7tn to N31.48tn as of this month. That is a 51 per cent increase, representing N10.7tn in new retirement wealth.

“Let me say plainly what those numbers mean: confidence is back, and the system is growing.”

The PenCom boss said the growth was driven not only by increased investment returns but also by a rise in active participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme, with 938,229 new contributors joining over the last 24 months.

Speaking on the impact of the reforms on retirees, Oloworaran said the commission had prioritised improving pension payments.

According to her, aggregate monthly pension payments increased by 22 per cent, from N12.2bn to N14.9bn.

She also announced that following the implementation of the new national minimum wage, the Federal Government approved a N32,000 monthly consequential pension adjustment for eligible retirees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies who retired on or before July 29, 2024.

She said more than 195,000 pensioners had already benefited from the adjustment.

Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme was established under the Pension Reform Act 2004 and further strengthened by the Pension Reform Act 2014, with PenCom serving as the regulator of Pension Fund Administrators and Pension Fund Custodians.

The scheme covers Federal Government employees, members of the military and workers in private sector organisations with three or more employees.

At its inception in 2004, the pension industry had assets of about N2tn, which have now grown to N31.48tn, reflecting sustained expansion over the past two decades