The Director General of the National Pension Commission, PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, says Nigeria’s pension assets have grown by 51 percent in two years. She disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing the State House Press Corps on “Two Years of Historic Pension Transformation.”

According to her, total pension assets rose from N20.79 trillion to N31.48 trillion as of July 2026, representing N10.7 trillion in new retirement wealth. She also announced that membership of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, increased by 938,229 to 11.32 million within the last 24 months.

Oloworaran highlighted the impact of the N758 billion Pension Bond approved by President Bola Tinubu. She said the bond has settled longstanding pension liabilities dating back to 2007 and improved the welfare of Nigerian pensioners. Other bold initiatives by the Commission were also cited as drivers of growth.

The PenCom DG attributed the growth to mandatory monthly contributions under the CPS, strong regulatory oversight by PenCom, professional fund management by PFAs, and consistent investment returns from government securities and equities. She added that increased public confidence in the CPS, compared to the old defined benefit scheme, has also helped.

On payments to retirees, Oloworaran said aggregate monthly pension payments increased by 22 percent, from N12.2 billion to N14.9 billion. She also announced that following the new national minimum wage, the Federal Government approved a N32,000 monthly consequential pension adjustment for eligible treasury-funded retirees who retired on or before July 29, 2024. Over 195,000 pensioners have already benefited.

The DG noted that before the 2004 Pension Reform Act, the industry was underdeveloped and burdened by unpaid liabilities. With the introduction of the CPS, assets have grown steadily from virtually zero in 2004 to N31.48 trillion today. She said despite challenges like inflation and low informal sector coverage, the pension industry remains one of Nigeria’s strongest financial sector reform success stories.