Key Takeaways
- • The National Pension Commission (PenCom), with Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), launched its maiden annual National Pension Week on October 26, 2026, running through October 30, with youth inclusion in pension savings as its main target.
- • PenCom Director General Bridget Omolola Oloworaran said youths under 35 make up 95 million people, or 40 per cent of Nigeria's population, and urged them to start saving now rather than waiting for formal employment.
- • Oloworaran's illustration: a saver starting N10,000 monthly at 20 would retire with about N113 million at a 15 per cent compound growth rate, versus N2.4 million contributed by a saver who started at 40.
- • PenCom said it is adapting its framework, including personal pension plans, to suit gig, tech, informal and self-employed workers instead of the legacy one-employer model.
- • Pension Fund Administrators and custodians were directed to cut administrative friction and use technology to make account opening faster and more accessible to younger contributors.
Summary
The National Pension Commission (PenCom), in collaboration with the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), staged the maiden edition of its annual National Pension Week, which opened on Monday, October 26, 2026 and runs through Friday, October 30. The campaign, themed 'Your Hustle, Your Future: Why Retirement Planning Starts Now,' aims to deepen pension literacy, accelerate financial inclusion and expand participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). The opening-day youth engagement session brought together young people in person and virtually, and parents were encouraged to open pension accounts for their children.
Speaking at the event, PenCom Director General Bridget Omolola Oloworaran said youths under 35 constitute 95 million people, or 40 per cent of Nigeria's population. She argued that retirement planning should begin with the first job, not at retirement, and that youths should save from current income even before securing formal employment. She said personal pension plans allow self-employed people, entrepreneurs, tech professionals, artisans, farmers, freelancers and content creators to build retirement funds without a corporate employer or payroll. She acknowledged that the traditional system was designed around one employer, one salary and a 35-year career, and said PenCom is adapting its framework to fit modern work arrangements.
To illustrate the value of early saving, Oloworaran compared two savers using a conservative 15 per cent compound annual growth rate. According to her, Emeka began saving N10,000 monthly at age 40 and contributed N2.4 million by age 60. Tolu began saving the same amount at age 20 and contributed N4.2 million by age 60, retiring with approximately N113 million through compounding. The DG also placed pension awareness within broader federal inclusion measures under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Nigerian Consumer Credit Framework and the National Credit Guarantee Company. She told operators that opening a pension account 'must not take a day,' and urged them to communicate in language young people understand.
Discussants from the pension sector, civil society and content creation agreed that early saving is important and that pension sector managers need to restructure how they communicate with young people. They also assured youths that their pension contributions are safe. As part of opening-day activities, PenCom held a virtual and physical quiz and announced winners of its national pension literacy essay competition, which covered secondary students, undergraduates and serving National Youth Service Corps members. Hafiz Muhammad Kawu Ibrahim, PenCom Commissioner (Technical), announced the winners in Abuja: James Nnaemaka Aja, an SS3 student at Standard International Secondary School, Umuahia, won the Category A prize of N1 million and a laptop, while Oluwaferanmi Ogunmola, a Corps member serving in Cross River State, won Category B with N1.5 million and a laptop. The week's remaining activities include a National SME Fair focused on small business operators and artisans, aimed at expanding the Micro Pension Plan (MPP).
Speaking at the event, PenCom Director General Bridget Omolola Oloworaran said youths under 35 constitute 95 million people, or 40 per cent of Nigeria's population. She argued that retirement planning should begin with the first job, not at retirement, and that youths should save from current income even before securing formal employment. She said personal pension plans allow self-employed people, entrepreneurs, tech professionals, artisans, farmers, freelancers and content creators to build retirement funds without a corporate employer or payroll. She acknowledged that the traditional system was designed around one employer, one salary and a 35-year career, and said PenCom is adapting its framework to fit modern work arrangements.
To illustrate the value of early saving, Oloworaran compared two savers using a conservative 15 per cent compound annual growth rate. According to her, Emeka began saving N10,000 monthly at age 40 and contributed N2.4 million by age 60. Tolu began saving the same amount at age 20 and contributed N4.2 million by age 60, retiring with approximately N113 million through compounding. The DG also placed pension awareness within broader federal inclusion measures under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Nigerian Consumer Credit Framework and the National Credit Guarantee Company. She told operators that opening a pension account 'must not take a day,' and urged them to communicate in language young people understand.
Discussants from the pension sector, civil society and content creation agreed that early saving is important and that pension sector managers need to restructure how they communicate with young people. They also assured youths that their pension contributions are safe. As part of opening-day activities, PenCom held a virtual and physical quiz and announced winners of its national pension literacy essay competition, which covered secondary students, undergraduates and serving National Youth Service Corps members. Hafiz Muhammad Kawu Ibrahim, PenCom Commissioner (Technical), announced the winners in Abuja: James Nnaemaka Aja, an SS3 student at Standard International Secondary School, Umuahia, won the Category A prize of N1 million and a laptop, while Oluwaferanmi Ogunmola, a Corps member serving in Cross River State, won Category B with N1.5 million and a laptop. The week's remaining activities include a National SME Fair focused on small business operators and artisans, aimed at expanding the Micro Pension Plan (MPP).
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