Jelili Gbadamosi
Nigeria’s pension industry recorded significant growth over the past two years, with total pension assets rising to N31.48 trillion and nearly 938,229 new contributors joining the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has disclosed.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Meet the Press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Oloworaran said pension assets increased by 51 per cent, from N20.7 trillion to N31.48 trillion, representing N10.7 trillion in additional retirement savings.
She attributed the growth to renewed public confidence in the contributory pension system, noting that trust remains the foundation of every successful pension scheme.
According to her, the increase was driven by stronger investment returns and higher participation, with 938,229 workers enrolling in the scheme over the last 24 months.
The PenCom boss also highlighted improvements in pension payments, revealing that aggregate monthly pension disbursements rose by 22 per cent, from N12.2 billion to N14.9 billion.
She further announced that following the implementation of the new national minimum wage, the Federal Government approved a N32,000 monthly consequential pension adjustment for eligible retirees of treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies who retired on or before July 29, 2024.
According to Oloworaran, more than 195,000 pensioners have already benefited from the adjustment.
The Contributory Pension Scheme, established under the Pension Reform Act 2004 and strengthened by the Pension Reform Act 2014, is regulated by PenCom and covers Federal Government employees, members of the military, and workers in private sector organisations with at least three employees.
She noted that the industry’s assets have grown from about N2 trillion at the inception of the scheme in 2004 to N31.48 trillion, reflecting sustained expansion over the past two decades.
