PenCom asks pension firms to open 3 million new funded accounts in a year

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has asked pension fund administrators and other players in the industry to open three million additional funded Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) within one year.

PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran made the call on Thursday at the National Pension Conference and Awards in Abuja, held as part of National Pension Week 2026.

She stressed that the target is about money actually paid in, not just names on a register. "An empty account is a statistic, but a funded account is a future," she said, adding that the owners of the pension fund administrators have committed to the goal.

For an ordinary Nigerian, a funded RSA is the account where monthly pension contributions from an employer and worker are kept and invested until retirement. A registered but empty account earns nothing.

Five shifts for the next decade

Oloworaran said the next ten years of Nigerian pensions rest on five changes. The first is moving from payroll to population, so the scheme follows workers into markets, motor parks, farm clusters and "the phone in every pocket" rather than only salaried jobs.

She said the Personal Pension Plan and accredited pension agents would be used to reach more Nigerians.

The second shift is from savings to security. She said President Bola Tinubu will launch a Pension Security Initiative in November 2026, and she called on the private sector to help fund the Pension Protection Fund.

The third is from commitment to enforcement, with PenCom promising to use the powers in the Pension Reform Act to recover money owed to workers.

The fourth is from size to strength. She said every pension fund administrator and custodian must complete recapitalisation by June 30, 2027.

The fifth is from capital to development, with pension savings helping to finance power, roads, housing and businesses. "Pension money is not government money. It is not industry money. It is the deferred wages of Nigerians," she said.

According to Tribune, she also said pension assets rose from ₦20.79 trillion in July 2024 to ₦31.8 trillion by August 2026, and that the President has approved the first-ever exit benefit for retirees of Federal Government treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies, with a symbolic cheque presented at the event.

President Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, asked for stronger oversight and warned against reckless investment decisions, saying pension funds must be managed professionally with contributors and retirees in mind.

Tunji Andrews, chief executive of Awabah, told Nairametrics that technology and access barriers have been addressed for his firm, and that accredited pension agents now need to raise awareness so more Nigerians join the scheme.

On the timing of the three million target, the sources differ slightly: Nairametrics reported it as within one year, while Tribune put it as by the end of 2027.

What happens next

Pension administrators are expected to report progress on new funded accounts, while recapitalisation is due by June 30, 2027. The Pension Security Initiative is expected in November 2026.