The National Pension Commission on Wednesday announced that the total pension fund assets have surged to N20.79 trillion as of July 2024.
This milestone reflects the growing investment in the Contributory Pension Scheme which has been bolstered by contributions from states amounting to N236.7 billion from January 2020 through the second quarter of 2024.
The Acting Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, revealed these figures during the commission’s third quarter 2024 consultative forum held in Lagos for states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The event brought together senior government officials, heads of pension bureaus, boards, and commissions responsible for overseeing the CPS across various states.
Oloworaran highlighted that only 25 states, along with the FCT, have enacted laws for the CPS, with an additional six states in the process of passing such legislation.
She noted that six other states have opted for the Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme an alternative pension arrangement. Despite the progress, only eight of the 25 states with CPS laws are fully implementing the scheme.
The states as indicated in PenCom website are Lagos, Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Osun, Edo and Jigawa .
“Pension fund assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, continue to grow, with total Assets under management soaring to ₦20.79 trillion as at July 2024,” she stated.
The steady growth of pension fund assets underscores the benefits of the CPS, particularly for state governments.
Oloworaran emphasized that states adopting the CPS could leverage accumulated pension funds for infrastructural development by issuing state bonds.
She cited Lagos, Niger, Osun, Ekiti, and Delta as examples of states that have successfully issued bonds backed by pension funds, such as the financing of the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge in Lagos.
“We are pleased to note the steady remittance of contributions by States, with over N236.7 billion remitted by States between January 2020 and the second quarter of 2024,” she added.
Oloworaran assured attendees that the commission is dedicated to ensuring timely disbursement of retirement benefits for both public and private sector retirees. She emphasized PenCom’s ongoing efforts to expand the CPS’s reach at the subnational level and to resolve outstanding payments to retirees.
“We will also intensify efforts with relevant state government agencies to resolve the backlog in accrued rights payments to CPS retirees,” Oloworaran affirmed. “In addition, we will ensure that pensioners under the CPS and other pension arrangements benefit from pension increments as provided for in the Nigeria constitution.”
Looking ahead, PenCom plans to introduce a recognition and reward system in December 2025 to incentivize states that have made significant strides in pension reforms.
Oloworaran urged participants to actively engage in the forum’s discussions to enhance the role of state governments in the ongoing pension reform and implementation process.
The forum served as a platform for exchanging ideas and best practices to further the implementation and effectiveness of the CPS across the nation, aiming to secure a more robust and sustainable pension system for all stakeholders involved.
