PenCom data shows weak contribution levels across PFAs despite rising registrations, highlighting challenge of deepening pension inclusion in informal sector….
Fresh data from the National Pension Commission has revealed that the vast majority of Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan accounts remain unfunded, raising concerns about the effectiveness of efforts to expand pension coverage among self-employed and informal sector workers.
As of the third quarter of 2025, a total of 191,240 Personal Pension Plan accounts, representing 92.4 per cent of the 206,917 registered accounts had no contributions. Only 15,677 accounts, or 7.6 per cent, were funded during the period under review.
The figures point to a structural weakness in the micro-pension segment: while enrolment numbers continue to rise, actual contribution activity remains limited, slowing the growth of accumulated pension assets.
PenCom said the trend underscores the need for more targeted strategies to stimulate regular remittances, including stronger participant education, better-designed incentive frameworks and simplified contribution processes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme.
Wide Disparities Among PFAs
A breakdown of the data shows sharp differences in performance among Pension Fund Administrators.
AccessARM Pensions, which holds the largest share of Personal Pension Plan accounts with 107,547 registrations, recorded only 2,129 funded accounts about 2 per cent leaving a substantial pool of dormant accounts.
Stanbic IBTC Pensions also reported high inactivity levels, with 33,340 unfunded accounts, representing roughly 92 per cent of its total under the scheme.
Other PFAs with notably high proportions of unfunded accounts include Guarantee Trust Pensions (96 per cent), NLPC PFA (95 per cent) and Trustfund Pensions (94 per cent).
In contrast, a handful of operators demonstrated stronger contribution activity. Fidelity Pension Managers recorded 1,667 funded accounts out of 1,887 total registrations, meaning only about 12 per cent were unfunded — one of the lowest dormancy ratios in the segment. FCMB Pensions and Veritas Glanvills also posted comparatively better performance, with unfunded ratios of 69 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively.
Untapped Informal Sector Potential
According to PenCom, the data highlights the vast untapped potential within Nigeria’s informal sector and the urgency of a more coordinated industry-wide push to deepen micro-pension penetration.
“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,” the commission stated.
It added that expanding public awareness, strengthening agent distribution networks and designing products tailored to the income realities of informal workers would be critical to meeting national pension inclusion targets.
With more than nine out of every 10 registered accounts yet to receive contributions, the success of Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan may ultimately depend not just on enrolment numbers, but on converting registrations into consistent, long-term savings behaviour.
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