PenCom Reports Only 17 States Running Contributory Pensions as Scheme Assets Surge to N26tn

|By Babatunnji Wusu

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed that only 17 Nigerian states are fully implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), even as pension assets climbed beyond N26 trillion as of September 2025.

PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at an event in Benin, Edo State. She was represented by the Commission’s Inspectorate Commissioner, Chief Samuel Chigozie Uwandu.

Oloworaran said the CPS has grown into a powerful tool for national economic development, noting that it has “evolved beyond a retirement policy” and now reflects a national shift toward financial discipline and long-term planning. She explained that the scheme marks “a decisive break from past dependencies on state-provided old-age security to a new culture of retirement savings and forward planning.”

She described the CPS as a binding contract between workers and employers, guaranteeing that years of labour would be rewarded with financial security at retirement.

Giving an update on state-level compliance, she stated that 17 states currently operate the CPS, 12 states have yet to commence, while seven states are still setting up their pension bureaux.