PenCom Reaffirms Commitment to Pension Inclusion for Informal Sector Workers

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian, including millions in the informal sector enjoys access to a secure and dignified retirement.

Director General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, gave the assurance in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the Third Annual Conference of the Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PENCAN), themed “Inclusion & Innovations: Bridging the Pension Gap for Nigeria’s Informal Sector.”

Represented by the Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, the DG commended PENCAN for its sustained partnership in promoting public enlightenment on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

She described the conference theme as timely and essential, given the pressing need to integrate informal sector workers into Nigeria’s pension framework.

Buwai noted that while the formal sector remains vital, it represents only a fraction of the nation’s workforce.

Millions of Nigerians earn their livelihoods through trading, farming, craftsmanship, and other informal activities — most of whom still lack access to structured retirement plans.

To close this gap, he explained, PenCom has re-engineered the Micro Pension Plan into a more flexible and inclusive Personal Pension Plan (PPP) under the Commission’s broader “Pension Revolution 2.0.”

The PPP, he said, rests on five strategic pillars designed to simplify participation, encourage innovation, and enhance trust among informal workers.

In her remarks, Ms. Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, Acting CEO of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), highlighted the PPP as a transformative step toward achieving nationwide pension inclusion.

She described pensions as “social contracts that transform years of labour into dignity, stability, and independence in old age,” emphasizing that inclusion is fundamental to *national resilience and social equity.

She added that while Nigeria’s pension reforms of 2004 and 2014 established a strong governance and savings framework, millions of informal workers remain outside the safety net, a gap the PPP seeks to close through lower entry requirements, flexible contributions, and digital enrollment channels.

President of PENCAN, Nana Musa, also called for renewed efforts to expand pension coverage, noting that over 80 percent of Nigeria’s workforce operates within the informal sector.

She praised PenCom and PenOp for ongoing reforms but stressed the need for greater public awareness, trust-building, and technology-driven enrollment to sustain participation.

Reaffirming PENCAN’s commitment to deepening pension literacy, Musa said the Association views itself as a key partner in national development, working to ensure that every Nigerian regardless of employment type can look forward to a secure and dignified retirement.