The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has unveiled a $250 million Pension Industry Infrastructure Investment Consortium in the country.
Unveiling the consortium at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that it will be funded with $200 million from Pension Fund Operators as anchor investors through cash calls over 10 years, and $50 million being sought from Development Finance Institutions.
She said: “For the first time, Nigeria’s pension industry has jointly committed its own funds to infrastructure. This is a beginning, not a ceiling. As sound opportunities grow, so will this commitment.”
According to her, Nigeria needs productive investment and contributors need secure returns, stressing that both will be served through rigorous project selection and uncompromising protection of contributors’ interests.”
She revealed said pension assets have grown from N20.79 trillion in July 2024 to N31.48 trillion in June 2026, representing N10.7 trillion in new retirement wealth in under two years.
She said 938,229 new contributors joined the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in the same period, adding that pension funds are now diversifying into real assets to boost retirement outcomes while supporting national development.
She said total recoveries from defaulting employers stood at N36.6 billion as at July 2026, which outgrown last year’s in Nigeria.
She warned employers still deducting without remitting that a deduction on a payslip that does not reach a Retirement Savings Account represents a breach of trust and the law.
According to her, the agency is collaborating with security agencies to facilitate the remittance of pensions by employers in the country.
Scoring President Tinubu’s administration high in pension profile, noting that for the first time retirees across the Contributory Pension Scheme have received an across-the-board increase under Pension Boost 1.0 .
This benefited over 241,000 retirees and raised total monthly payments from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.
She said that for the first time in 21 years pensions of the defunct Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund were reviewed, with an unprecedented increase of 1,173 per cent that raised monthly pensions for 2,116 retirees from N12.56 million to N159.95 million, while N8.70 billion in arrears was paid, allowing one retiree who previously earned about N18,000 monthly to now earn about N206,000.
She added that for the first time the Federal Government has cleared inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007 through the N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond which has paid 957,045 beneficiaries.
According to her, accrued rights are now being paid as and when due and in many cases ahead of time through a one-time verification exercise that has credited accounts of federal employees due to retire up to December 2029, ensuring that under the Zero Waiting Time policy federal retirees begin to receive pensions immediately upon retirement, while urging MDAs to complete enrolment before December 2026.
She further stated that retirement benefits that once took up to 21 months to approve are now approved within 48 hours as a mandatory service standard binding on all Pension Fund Administrators, and that for the first time Nigeria has an Exit Benefit Scheme which since January 1, 2026 provides eligible employees of Treasury-funded federal MDAs with at least 10 years of service an additional benefit equal to 100 per cent of their total annual emolument, with the first 175 retirees receiving about N1.1 billion in August, this year.
The pension system now has a national distribution network for the informal sector through Accredited Pension Agents who are taking the Personal Pension Plan into markets, motor parks, farms and workshops to reach traders, artisans, farmers and transport workers.
*TWO MORE COMING IN OCTOBER*
She disclosed that two more historic initiatives will be launched during National Pension Week scheduled for October 26 to 30.
She said PenCare, the retiree healthcare programme, will give eligible low-income retirees access to essential healthcare at no cost to them, beginning with 30,000 retirees, while the Minimum Pension Guarantee will set a floor beneath which no eligible retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme will fall, noting that for the retiree with the smallest savings that floor is the difference between hardship and dignity.
PenCom also unveiled the maiden edition of PenCom Chronicles and launched the website for National Pension Week 2026.
