The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, announced a strategy to expand pension participation in Nigeria. The reform focuses on using accredited pension agents to enroll informal sector workers who currently lack retirement coverage. This initiative aims to bring pension access to over 75 million Nigerians who work outside the formal employment system.
PenCom’s past reforms have strengthened the pension system for formal workers, but informal workers remain largely uncovered. According to official data, more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce is in the informal economy and pension coverage for this group is minimal.
The commission presented the first accredited pension agent license to a company called Awabah under a new regulatory framework. The accredited pension agents are expected to operate across communities and workplaces to drive enrollment and education for informal workers.
Oloworaran said digital platforms will support the roll out of the personal pension plan to informal sector workers. These platforms will enable contributions that are small and flexible to match the income patterns of informal workers.
“This means that millions of market traders, artisans, farmers, transport operators, technicians and small business owners retire with nothing, no pensions, no savings and no safety net,” she explained.
Oloworaran noted that if informal workers are not properly included in pension coverage, the lack of retirement savings will pose a serious social and economic risk to the country. She said Nigeria must leverage technology and modern distribution channels to close the pensions gap.
The accredited pension agents will facilitate real time account access, onboarding through mobile phones, and contributions that can be made daily or weekly. These digital features are designed to align with how informal workers earn and spend their income.
PenCom also said pension contributions will remain tax deductible to encourage participation. The commission is working with telecommunications companies, fintech firms, and payment service banks to expand pension coverage nationwide.
Oloworaran described the accreditation of the first pension agent as a milestone that marks a new phase in pension inclusion for informal workers. The expansion is expected to create employment opportunities through the deployment of trained agents across the country.
At the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Awabah, Tunji Andrews, emphasized the need to protect informal workers from poverty in old age. “No African worker should be one mishap away from poverty,” he said.
Andrews explained that Awabah’s pension offering combines retirement savings with insurance coverage to make it more accessible. “Through our ValuBah bundle, we have shown that for as little as N3,000 a month, workers can access personal pensions bundled with health insurance, accident cover and life insurance,” he said.
The personal pension plan and accredited agents are central to PenCom’s strategy to expand pension access to informal sector workers nationwide. By increasing pension coverage, the reform aims to reduce old age poverty and strengthen long term economic stability.
