Key Takeaways
- • PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran has charged Pension Fund Administrators and industry stakeholders with opening three million additional funded Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) within the next year, targeting 2027, according to Daily Trust.
- • The target emphasizes funded, active accounts rather than mere registrations, with the owners of all PFAs reportedly having committed to it.
- • Oloworaran outlined five major reforms to be implemented over the next 10 years, including a shift from savings to security and from commitment to enforcement.
- • President Bola Tinubu, represented by Senator George Akume, urged stronger regulatory oversight and warned against reckless investment decisions by pension fund managers.
- • The Pension Security Initiative is slated for launch by President Tinubu in November 2026.
Summary
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has charged Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and other industry stakeholders with opening three million additional funded Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) by 2027, according to Daily Trust. She made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday at the National Pension Conference and Awards, held as part of Pension Week 2026.
In her keynote address, Oloworaran said five major reforms must take place over the next 10 years to further reposition Nigeria's pension industry. She said the Commission would reach Nigerians through the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), accredited pension agents and other initiatives. She stated that the owners of all PFAs had committed to opening three million funded active accounts within the next year, emphasizing that these must be new funded accounts rather than registrations. "An empty account is a statistic, but a funded account is a future," she said.
Oloworaran also described a shift from savings to security, aiming to ensure that no Nigerian who has worked and saved for retirement grows old without security. She said this would materialise in November 2026, when President Bola Tinubu launches the Pension Security Initiative. She further called for a shift from commitment to enforcement, saying the Commission would use every power conferred by the Pension Reform Act to recover amounts owed to workers within the decade.
Speaking at the event, President Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume, called for stronger regulatory oversight, improved compliance and greater responsibility across the pension ecosystem. He warned against reckless investment decisions and said pension funds must be managed professionally with due regard for contributors and retirees, with investment decisions based on rigorous assessments of risk and return. He charged PenCom with enforcing relevant laws and standards without fear or favour.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Olumuyiwa Abel Enitan, reaffirmed the government's commitment to improving pensioners' welfare under the Renewed Hope Agenda, saying retirees "deserve to be recognised, rewarded and appreciated."
In her keynote address, Oloworaran said five major reforms must take place over the next 10 years to further reposition Nigeria's pension industry. She said the Commission would reach Nigerians through the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), accredited pension agents and other initiatives. She stated that the owners of all PFAs had committed to opening three million funded active accounts within the next year, emphasizing that these must be new funded accounts rather than registrations. "An empty account is a statistic, but a funded account is a future," she said.
Oloworaran also described a shift from savings to security, aiming to ensure that no Nigerian who has worked and saved for retirement grows old without security. She said this would materialise in November 2026, when President Bola Tinubu launches the Pension Security Initiative. She further called for a shift from commitment to enforcement, saying the Commission would use every power conferred by the Pension Reform Act to recover amounts owed to workers within the decade.
Speaking at the event, President Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume, called for stronger regulatory oversight, improved compliance and greater responsibility across the pension ecosystem. He warned against reckless investment decisions and said pension funds must be managed professionally with due regard for contributors and retirees, with investment decisions based on rigorous assessments of risk and return. He charged PenCom with enforcing relevant laws and standards without fear or favour.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Olumuyiwa Abel Enitan, reaffirmed the government's commitment to improving pensioners' welfare under the Renewed Hope Agenda, saying retirees "deserve to be recognised, rewarded and appreciated."
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