PenCom records 11.18 million pension registrations in Q1

The National Pension Commission has disclosed that cumulative Retirement Savings Account registrations under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to 11,183,475 at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

According to PenCom’s Q1 2026 report released on Monday, cumulative RSA registrations grew by 143,248 accounts during the three months, up from 11,040,227 recorded at the close of the fourth quarter of 2025.

Highlighting the momentum in account openings during the period, the commission stated, “The quarterly cadence is materially stronger than the 114,864 opened in Q4, and reflects both improved digital onboarding and sustained public sensitisation.”

The steady expansion in contributor numbers coincides with a broader financial surge across the pension sector, where total assets under management have surpassed N30tn. Established following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and amended in 2014, the CPS replaced the pay-as-you-go Defined Benefit Scheme to safeguard retirement funds through a fully funded, privately managed pension architecture for public and private sector employees.

Despite the growth in registrations, active pension membership currently covers about 12.1 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 92-million workforce. Industry analysts and the regulator emphasise that deepening pension penetration remains a critical hurdle, particularly across the nation’s vast informal economy.

To address this, PenCom has continued to champion the Micro Pension Plan, recently rebranded as the Personal Pension Plan, to capture self-employed workers and micro-enterprises.

A breakdown of operator performance showed that the top five Pension Fund Administrators accounted for 54.41 per cent of new RSA registrations during the quarter, marking a decline from the 62.11 per cent market concentration recorded in Q4 2025.

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers maintained its market leadership by securing 25,024 new registrations, representing 17.47 per cent of the total. AccessARM Pension followed with 10.63 per cent, FCMB Pensions recorded 10.15 per cent, TangerineAPT Pension captured 9.65 per cent, and Trustfund Pensions accounted for 6.73 per cent.

Analysing the shift, PenCom pointed out that the figures reflect growing market dynamism and intensifying competition among mid-tier PFAs, highlighted by TangerineAPT’s entry into the top five ranking.

On demographic distribution, female registrations accounted for 44.08 per cent of new contributors in Q1 2026, while male registrations stood at 55.92 per cent. The regulator described the numbers as evidence of a steadily narrowing gender gap in pension enrolment, propelled by increased female participation in the formal workforce.

The report further revealed that contributors under 40 years of age dominated new enrolments, accounting for 75.31 per cent of all registrations in the quarter.

PenCom described this youthful contributor base as a major structural asset to the pension system, noting that these individuals possess retirement horizons extending beyond 2055. The commission advised fund managers to structure investment strategies around this young demographic profile, emphasising that longer investment horizons allow room for greater risk-bearing capacity and sustained long-term wealth creation through growth-oriented asset classes like domestic equities and infrastructure funds.