PenCom Assures Provision Of Pension Coverage For 80m Workers In Informal Sector
By Sunday Etuka
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has reaffirmed commitment to providing pension coverage for an estimated 80 million Nigeria workers in the informal sector.
Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, made this commitment on Thursday, while speaking at the 2025 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PenCAN) Conference in Abuja, with the theme, “Inclusion and Innovation: Bridging the Pension Gap for Nigeria’s Informal Sector.”
“I stand before you today to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian, whether formally employed or not, has the opportunity for a secure and dignified old age. We recognise that while the formal sector is significant, it represents only a portion of our national workforce.
“A vast majority of Nigerians earn their livelihoods in the informal sector such as artisans, traders, market men and women, freelancers, creative professionals, agricultural workers, and participants in the gig economy. For far too long, many of these individuals have had little or no access to structured pension arrangements,” she said.
“Nigeria’s informal workforce is estimated at between 70 and 80 million people. Under- coverage in this segment means that the promise of retirement security remains a dream rather than a reality for many,” the DG added.
She disclosed that the earlier Micro Pension Plan, launched in 2019, recorded modest uptake of approximately 200,000 contributors and about one billion naira in assets, which, according to her, was far below the scale of the challenge.
Consequently, she said the PenCom has re-engineered the Micro Pension Plan under a new name, the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), to deliver both inclusion and innovation. The guidelines for the PPP were released as part of the recently launched Pension Revolution.
The PenCom DG highlighted the five pillars of the Pension Revolution 2.0 initiative, to include “Inclusive Eligibility, Flexible Contributions and Access, Innovative Products and Delivery, Digitised Administration and Transparency, and Investment Strategy and Growth.”
She said for many in the informal sector, pension participation has been hindered by limited awareness, cumbersome registration processes, irregular income patterns, and the misconception that pensions are reserved for formal-sector workers.
Therefore, the PPP was designed to overcome these challenges through its flexible, technology-driven framework.
“With this approach, we anticipate a significant increase in pension coverage among informal-sector workers: greater financial inclusion, as they convert irregular earnings into long-term savings; the mobilisation of domestic capital for national development;, and, most importantly, improved retirement security for millions of Nigerians who previously lacked access to a structured pension system,” Omolola said.
She called on the Association and other journalists to partner with the Commission in this transformative journey.
“Help raise awareness about the PPP, explain it in simple and relatable terms to artisans, traders, and small business owners, and showcase success stories of those who have joined, contributed, and are steadily building retirement security,” she requested.
Also speaking, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators of Nigeria (PenOp), Ms.Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, said that pensions are more than financial vehicles, adding that they are social contracts that translate decades of labour into dignity, security, and independence in later life.
“A mature, inclusive pension system is a credit to any modern society. It reduces old age poverty, stabilizes household finances, and strengthens national resilience,” she noted.
According to her, the introduction of Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) through the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and the current 2014 amended act, marked a landmark reform, and introduced mandatory contribution arrangements for formal sector workers.
“It established Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), the National Pension Commission (PenCom), and moved Nigeria’s pension system to a fully funded and portable scheme. This strengthened governance and oversight and was a turning point for us as a nation,” she added.
Speaking on the recent launch of the Personal Pension Plan, the PenOp boss said,The Personal Pension Plan (PPP) is not a theoretical construct; it is a practical pathway to extend retirement security to the informal sector.
“It is designed for flexibility — allowing lower minimum contributions, graduated entry points, and portability — so that those with irregular incomes can still accumulate retirement savings over time. It simplifies onboarding and supports digital contribution channels.
“By design, it offers flexibility of contribution, simplified registration, recordkeeping, benefits and options that match varied cashflow realities. Supported by consumer education, efficient technology, and trusted distribution partners—it will turn millions of informal workers from pension outsiders into pension participants.Therefore, extending pension coverage through the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) is not merely a policy task; it is an investment in Nigeria’s social and economic future.
“With pragmatic product design, and stakeholder collaboration, we can bring millions into retirement security.The human purpose behind pensions in Nigeria remains: to ensure that every Nigerian worker can look forward to a stable, and dignified retirement. By deepening coverage through the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), we make that promise a reality for millions more,” she noted.
Earlier, in her Welcome Address, the PenCAN President, Mrs Nana Musa, noted that Nigeria’s informal sector represents over 80 per cent of the nation’s workforce — hardworking men and women who contribute immensely to national productivity, but remain largely excluded from formal social protection mechanisms, including pensions.
She said “As journalists dedicated to deepening public understanding of pension matters, we believe that closing this gap is central to achieving sustainable social security, reducing poverty, and promoting inclusive growth.”
According to her, the Conference provided a platform for robust engagement between regulators, operators, policymakers, labour unions, and the media — to explore innovative models and strategies that can make pension participation more accessible, affordable, and attractive to the informal sector.
While commending the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and all pension operators for ongoing reforms and initiatives aimed at expanding coverage under the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), formally called the Micro Pension Plan, the Mrs Musa stated that more needs to be done, especially in the areas of awareness creation, trust building, technology-driven enrollment, and policy incentives that can encourage informal workers to join and stay within the system.
Stating that the mission of PenCAN goes beyond reporting news, she said “We see ourselves as partners in national development — using our platforms to amplify the voices of stakeholders, highlight progress, and hold institutions accountable in the collective quest for a secure retirement for every Nigerian worker.”
