PenCom to enroll 1m women under personal pension plan

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, says the Commission is targeting one million to be enrolled into the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) as part of efforts to deepen pension coverage among workers in Nigeria’s vast informal sector. Speaking during a programme at Utako market in Abuja to commemorate International Women’s Day, […]

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, says the Commission is targeting one million to be enrolled into the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) as part of efforts to deepen pension coverage among workers in Nigeria’s vast informal sector.

Speaking during a programme at Utako market in Abuja to commemorate International Women’s Day, Oloworaran said the initiative was designed to provide financial security for women who operate outside formal employment structures and therefore lack structured retirement savings.

According to her, the programme aims to address a major gap in Nigeria’s pension system, where the majority of informal sector workers many of them women are excluded from retirement savings schemes.

The PenCom Boss explained that the Personal Pension Plan was designed to accommodate the realities of informal sector workers whose incomes are often irregular, adding that “PenCom is targeting 1 million.women for registration by the end of the year 2026,”

Under the scheme, participants can contribute flexible amounts daily, weekly or monthly depending on their financial capacity and business cycle.

“This plan allows traders, tailors, farmers and other small business owners to save toward retirement at their convenience,” she said. “Whether you want to contribute N1,000 daily, weekly or monthly, the scheme allows that flexibility.”

Oloworaran noted that contributors would also be able to access up to 50 per cent of their savings before retirement in the event of emergencies, while the remaining balance would be preserved to provide financial support in old age.

To encourage participation, Oloworaran disclosed that PenCom had introduced a temporary matching contribution initiative to support women who sign up for the plan.

Under the incentive, contributions made by women during the week of the campaign would be matched by the commission up to a maximum of N20,000.

“If you contribute N1,000, we will add N1,000. If you contribute N10,000, we will add N10,000. If you contribute N20,000, we will match it with another N20,000,” she explained.

She noted that the funding for the matching scheme would come from a combination of industry stakeholders and donor partners who support efforts to expand financial inclusion and retirement security in Nigeria.

She explained that PenCom would monitor the progress of the initiative by tracking new registrations and contributions through the reporting systems of Pension Fund Administrators.

“We will monitor the number of registrations and the amounts being contributed through the systems that connect us to the Pension Fund Administrators,” she said.