Personal pension savings stagnant, records 92.4% unfunded accounts

Despite efforts by the National Pension Commission, PenCom, to encourage personal pension savings, total of 191,240 Personal Pension Plan (PPP), about 92.4 percent of the 206,917 registered PPP accounts are unfunded as at third quarter 2025, Q3’25.

According to figures released by PenCom, only 15,677, representing 7.6 per cent of PPP were funded during the period under the review.

According to PenCom, the data underscores a critical challenge for the PPP, stressing that while registration numbers are increasing, the majority of accounts remain unfunded, limiting the growth of accumulated pension assets.

PenCom noted that the development indicates the need for targeted strategies to drive regular contributions, such as improved participant education, incentive structures, and streamlined remittance processes, to ensure the long term sustainability and effectiveness of the PPP.

Meanwhile, further breakdown of the data revealed significant disparities among Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, in the proportion of funded accounts.

AccessARM Pensions, which holds the largest share of PPP of 107,547 accounts, had only 2,129 funded accounts, representing just 2% of its total accounts funded, indicating a large pool of dormant accounts.

Similarly, Stanbic IBTC recorded 33,340 unfunded accounts, accounting for 92% of its total RSAs.

Other PFAs with particularly high proportions of unfunded accounts include Guarantee Trust Pensions (96%), NLPC PFA (95%), and Trustfund Pensions (94%).

Conversely, a few PFAs show relatively strong contribution activity. Fidelity Pension Managers, for example, had 1,667 funded RSAs out of 1,887 total accounts, meaning only 12% remained unfunded, reflecting higher engagement of contributors with their accounts. FCMB Pensions and Veritas Glanvills also recorded comparatively lower unfunded ratios of 69% and 71%, respectively.

PenCom stated: “These figures underscore the vast untapped potential of the informal sector and the urgent need for a broader, more coordinated effort by the Pension industry to deepen micro-pension penetration. Strengthening public awareness, expanding agent networks, and tailoring products to the realities of informal workers will be essential to achieving national pension inclusion targets and ensuring the long term sustainability of the PPP.”

Culled from vanguard