The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has unveiled new measures to expand pension coverage in Nigeria’s vast informal sector by relaunching the Micro Pension Plan under a new name, the Personal Pension Plan.
The initiative was announced at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors, themed “Strengthening Insurance and Pension Frameworks for Better Economy.”
Since the Micro Pension Plan’s launch in 2019, uptake has remained modest, with about 200,000 contributors and roughly N1bn in assets under management. PenCom officials admit that onboarding difficulties have been a major barrier to growth.
“The consensus is that the labour force largely resides in the informal sector. How do we bring them into the contributory pension scheme? This is even more important in a country like Nigeria, where the social safety net is weak,” said PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, who represented Director General Omolola Oloworaran.
The redesigned scheme will be stratified into three categories to reflect the diversity of informal workers, including artisans, traders, entertainers, athletes, and other self employed professionals.
To ease participation, PenCom plans to integrate fintech platforms and licensed Super Agents to handle registrations on behalf of Pension Fund Administrators. “Technology enabled registration is part of what we are looking at. Our aim is to make the process as simple as using a PoS terminal,” Buwai said.
Beyond expanding access, PenCom is also reviewing investment strategies to channel pension funds into infrastructure and private equity, seeking to balance contributors’ returns with Nigeria’s development needs amid rising inflation.
Industry experts stress that boosting financial literacy will be key. Adetunbi Ashaye, Head of Operations at Pathian Partners Limited, noted that many retirees still prefer lump sum withdrawals out of fear of inadequate monthly stipends. He emphasised the need for simplified, digitised, and diversified pension products to build trust.
With the rebranded Personal Pension Plan, PenCom hopes to overcome the shortcomings of the Micro Pension Plan and bring millions of informal workers into the pension net, ensuring greater financial security in retirement.
