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PenCom Pledges To Expand Pension Coverage For Nigeria’s Informal Sector
Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, on Thursday said the commission remained committed to driving pension coverage to operators in the informal sector of the economy.
She said the aim was to ensure that every Nigerians has access to a secure and dignified retirement.
Oloworaran spoke while delivering the keynote address at the annual conference of the Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria, (PENCAN) with the theme, “Inclusion and Innovations: Bridging the Pension Gap for Nigeria’s Informal Sector” in Abuja.
She pointed out that while the formal sector remained important, it represented only a fraction of the country’s workforce, adding that millions of citizens earn their livelihoods through informal activities namely trading, farming, craft work, and freelance services.
Represented PenCom Head, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Ibrahim Buwai, Oloworaran stressed that many of these workers still lacked access to structured pension arrangements.
She said the commission had re-engineered the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) into a more inclusive and innovative Personal Pension Plan (PPP) which was launched under the broader Pension Revolution 2.0. strategy.
According to the PenCom DG, the new plan is built on five strategic pillars designed to simplify participation and enhance flexibility.
She said, “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. 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.”
In her remarks, acting Chief Executive, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) Ms. Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, stressed the importance of PPP, describing it as a strategic innovation to extend retirement security to Nigeria’s vast informal sector.
She stated that pensions as social contracts aimed to transform years of labour into dignity, stability, and independence at old age, emphasising that a truly inclusive pension system remained vital to national resilience and social equity.
Ifeanyi-Okoro noted that the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and its 2014 amendment laid the foundation for a more transparent and sustainable pension structure, transitioning Nigeria from the fiscally unstable pay-as-you-go system to the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS.
She said, “While this reform strengthened governance and asset growth, millions of informal workers including traders, farmers and skilled workers remain excluded from formal pension coverage, underscoring the urgency of expanding participation.”
The PenOp CEO further explained that the PPP initiative introduces lower entry requirements, flexible contributions, and digital platforms to make saving for retirement easier for workers with irregular incomes.
She called for stakeholder collaboration, policy innovation, and widespread public awareness to ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of employment type, can look forward to a secure and dignified retirement.
On her part, President of PENCAN, Mrs. Nana Musa, emphasized the need to speed up the implementation of PPP to the informal sector, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the nation’s workforce, noting that the theme conference was timely, given the urgent need to enhance social protection and retirement security to millions of Nigerians outside the formal system.