Nigeria: CPs – Pencom Sustains Push for States, Others
The National Pension Commission has sustained the drive for states, local governments and employers in formal sector to fully embrace the Contributory Pension Scheme, writes Ebere Nwoji
One of the major headaches of the present leadership of the pension sector regulatory authority, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), is how to succeed in making every Nigerian with genuine means of livelihood enrol into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The commission said the overall aim is to ensure that at advanced age, every Nigerian retires with no stress, dignity and have something to fall back on in form of periodic benefits payment by the various Pension Fund Administrators from his or her retirement Savings Account whether the person worked for government, private sector or as a personal business operator.
PenCom Director General, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, makes no pretence in her efforts to achieve this desire, as she said she would use every instrument at her disposal to ensure success.
As part of effort to achieve this, between last year, 2025 and this year, PenCom has put in place a number of reforms and initiatives and one of them is the reform she tagged, “Pension Revolution 2.0,” launched mid 2025.
PenCom is also collaborating with relevant bodies that would mobilise workers to save more and make employers improve on their benefit payment to retired workers.
She instituted the bi- annual Pension Leadership Council (PILC) as well as periodic round table conference with the leadership of the workers’ union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC ) to solicit their support in the fight to have all workers and their employers key into the scheme and ensure the proposed more payment to workers at retirement.
Pension Revolution
The commission anchored these reforms and initiatives on the Pension Revolution 2.0, which has as its strategic roadmap the deepening of coverage of pension among Nigerians. To improve efficiency, and unlock pension funds for infrastructure without compromising retirement security.
It rebranded the Micro Pension scheme, Personal Pension Plan, expanded and simplified it to be more attractive to the informal sector operators such as traders, artisans and other self-employed people.
Still under the revolution the commission instituted voluntary contributions and encouraged employees to contribute above the mandatory 8 percent to boost retirement savings.
