Economic hardship is forcing many Nigerians in the informal sector to abandon the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), with new figures showing that 92 per cent of registered accounts had no pension contributions as of December 2025.
Data obtained by Financial Vanguard revealed that only 17,320 of the 215,412 registered Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) under the scheme received contributions, while 198,092 accounts remained dormant.
Several traders and artisans blamed rising living costs for their inability to make regular pension payments, while others admitted they were unaware of how the scheme operates.
Although registrations have continued to increase, active participation has remained low. PenCom data showed that PPP registrations grew by 175 per cent, rising from 78,087 accounts in 2022 to 215,412 in 2025. However, dormant accounts also increased from 87.4 per cent to 92 per cent over the same period.
The pattern has persisted in recent years. In 2024, only 15,460 of the 172,936 registered accounts made contributions, leaving 157,476 accounts inactive. In 2023, just 13,150 contributors funded their pensions, while 101,232 of the 114,382 registered accounts remained dormant.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) said registration alone does not translate into savings, warning that unfunded accounts create a false impression of financial inclusion. The commission called for stronger awareness campaigns, better incentives and easier contribution processes to encourage consistent participation and improve the scheme’s long-term sustainability.
The Personal Pension Plan, formerly known as the Micro Pension Plan, was introduced by PenCom to help self-employed and informal sector workers build retirement savings. The Federal Government had projected about nine million enrollees by 2023, but progress has fallen short of expectations.
PenCom also attributed the slow growth partly to inadequate awareness efforts by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). The regulator has since directed PFAs to submit annual awareness plans for the scheme or face sanctions, although participation has remained sluggish despite compliance.
