Nigeria’s pension assets hit N9.58 trillion

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says its assets in the contributory pension scheme (CPS) have grown to N9.58 trillion.

Aisha Dahir-Umar, acting director-general of the commission, said this on Thursday while speaking at a journalism workshop in Benin, Edo state capital.

The commission’s assets are said to have grown by over N1 trillion in one year, and stood at N8.49 trillion in November, 2018.

Dahir-Umar, who was represented by Kunle Odebiyi, head, micro-pension department, also said the commission has recorded great increase in the number of Nigerians registered under the CPS.

“As at September 2019, the number of registered contributors under the CPS has grown to 8.85 million while pension fund assets have grown to N9.58 trillion,” she said. 

“This growth indeed justifies our emphasis on the safety of pension funds as the bedrock of sustaining the CPS and assure all stakeholders that the pension reform remains steadily on course. 

“These modest milestones notwithstanding, the Commission and Pension Operators are committed to actualising the growth potentials of the pension industry.”

She added that the theme of the workshop, ‘expanding coverage of the pension industry’ reflects the commission’s focus to “expand access to pension via the CPS as a veritable tool for economic development”.

“This aligns with the pension reform objective of old age poverty reduction and improvement in the welfare and general standard of living,” she said. 

“The quest to expand coverage of pension is being pursued through some transformational initiatives especially the Micro Pension Plan.”