Personal Pension Plan Nigeria alert: PenCom reports over 90% of registered accounts unfunded, urging stronger contribution strategies for sustainability

Despite ongoing efforts by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to promote personal pension savings, the vast majority of registered Personal Pension Plan (PPP) accounts remain unfunded, underscoring a critical challenge for Nigeria’s pension industry, PenCom reported on 26 February 2026.

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As of the third quarter of 2025, 191,240 PPP accounts approximately 92.4 percent of the 206,917 registered were inactive, leaving only 15,677 accounts with actual contributions.

PenCom noted that while registrations continue to grow, the lack of funding in most accounts limits the accumulation of pension assets and diminishes the long-term effectiveness of the PPP initiative.

Data from Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) reveals significant disparities. AccessARM Pensions, managing 107,547 PPP accounts, had only 2,129 funded accounts, or 2 percent.

Stanbic IBTC reported 92 percent of its 33,340 accounts unfunded. Other PFAs with high inactivity include Guarantee Trust Pensions (96%), NLPC PFA (95%), and Trustfund Pensions (94%).

By contrast, a few PFAs demonstrated higher engagement.

Fidelity Pension Managers had 12 percent of accounts unfunded, while FCMB Pensions and Veritas Glanvills recorded 69 percent and 71 percent unfunded ratios, respectively, reflecting stronger contributor activity.

PenCom highlighted the untapped potential within Nigeria’s informal sector, urging a coordinated effort to deepen micro-pension penetration.

The commission emphasised enhanced participant education, simplified remittance processes, expanded agent networks, and incentive structures as key measures to boost contributions.

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“The pension industry must design products suited to the realities of informal workers to achieve national pension inclusion targets and ensure the long-term sustainability of the PPP,” PenCom said.