Nigeria’s pension regulator has renewed its drive to bring tens of millions of informal-sector workers into the country’s retirement savings net, stressing that the redesigned pension framework is central to closing a widening national pension gap and securing the financial future of the workforce that powers the everyday economy.
Speaking in Abuja at an industry conference, the leadership of the National Pension Commission said the revamped micro-pension system, now operating as the Personal Pension Plan, was introduced to address the shortcomings that limited the success of the original scheme launched in 2019. The regulator explained that the scale of exclusion in the informal economy had become a national vulnerability, noting that Nigeria’s informal workforce is estimated at between seventy and eighty million people, yet most have no structured retirement savings to rely on.
The Commission said early participation in the previous micro-pension model remained far below expectations, attracting only a small portion of contributors and about one billion dollars in assets, which did not match the scale of the challenge.
- It warned that market traders, artisans, gig workers, freelancers, farmers, micro-entrepreneurs and transport operators continue to power Nigeria’s business landscape but still remain outside formal pension protection. It emphasised that many had worked for decades without access to structured savings, exposing them to poverty and insecurity in old age.
The redesigned Personal Pension Plan was therefore created to reflect the realities of workers who earn irregular incomes. The Commission explained that the framework now allows individuals from age eighteen to participate and supports flexible digital contributions through multiple channels.
Every contribution is split into an emergency portion and a long-term portion so that liquidity needs do not discourage participation. The regulator stressed that digitisation now plays a major role in rebuilding trust and lowering entry barriers, noting that contributors receive real-time acknowledgement of their payments and instant access to their account statements. Pension Fund Administrators and accredited agents are expected to deploy technology-driven, mobile-friendly processes to make enrolment easier, especially for informal workers who operate outside traditional corporate structures.
The Commission added that contributions made under the scheme will be managed through a dedicated investment structure built around conservative and growth options to cater to different risk preferences.
It said the new model is designed to deepen financial inclusion, mobilise long-term domestic capital and provide the dignity of stable retirement income for millions who have been excluded for decades. It appealed to the media to simplify the message and help raise awareness, and also called on informal-sector workers to take advantage of the new opportunity, assuring them that retirement security is within reach.
Industry operators echoed the regulator’s concerns, noting that the pension gap has persisted for many years despite major reforms adopted in 2004, which transformed Nigeria’s pension model into a funded and privately managed system. They warned that the country cannot achieve meaningful social stability unless pension coverage extends beyond the formal sector.
They added that the Personal Pension Plan offers a practical path to inclusion by supporting lower contributions, digital access, flexible entry points and portability that suit workers with unpredictable income patterns. Technology, education and trusted distribution agents were identified as essential to converting millions of pension outsiders into active contributors.
Media stakeholders at the event also stressed that the urgency of pension inclusion had grown significantly, pointing out that more than eighty per cent of Nigeria’s workforce operates in the informal sector yet remains largely outside formal social protection frameworks.
They said the ongoing reforms mark progress but insisted that much more must be done to build trust, deepen awareness and make digital enrolment seamless for traders, artisans, farmers, gig-economy workers and micro-business owners.
Latest data from the pension regulator show that the revamped Personal Pension Plan has recorded encouraging growth. As of August, participation and assets under the plan had risen to N1.58bn, expanding steadily from N185.18m in August 2021. The scheme grew to N313.46m in August 2022, N560.06m in August 2023 and N968.27m in August 2024 before crossing the one-billion-naira mark this year.
For MSMEs and informal workers across Africa, Nigeria’s renewed push signals a broader shift toward long-term financial resilience. The restructured pension pathway is expected to strengthen social protection, empower micro-entrepreneurs and support economic stability by ensuring that workers contributing daily to national growth can look forward to a dignified retirement.
