90% of Nigerians lack formal pension coverage – Report

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Nigeria’s pension coverage increased to 9.1 per cent of the adult population in 2026 from 7.8 per cent in 2023, leaving about nine in every 10 Nigerian adults without any formal pension arrangement, the latest Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey has revealed.

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The 2026 A2F Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access showed that despite improvements in financial inclusion, pensions remained one of the least-used formal financial products in the country.

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Speaking at the official launch of the report in Abuja on Wednesday, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, said the modest improvement highlighted the scale of the retirement security challenge facing Nigeria.

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“Pension participation has risen from 7.8 per cent of adults in 2023 to 9.1 per cent in 2026. That progress is real, and it is encouraging. But turn the statistics around. Roughly nine out of every 10 Nigerian adults still stand outside any formal pension arrangement,” she said.

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According to Oloworaran, millions of traders, farmers, mechanics, drivers, tailors, hairdressers and workers in the digital economy continue to earn incomes without building adequate financial protection for retirement.

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“They work, they earn, they carry this economy. But too many of them are growing older without building any security for the day they can no longer work. That is the great frontier of pension reform,” she added.

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The PenCom boss said financial inclusion should extend beyond bank accounts to products that provide long-term security, arguing that pensions connect the income Nigerians earn during their working years with their welfare after retirement.

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She said the commission was redesigning pension inclusion through the Personal Pension Plan and called for a dedicated pension inclusion model capable of identifying what would encourage informal-sector workers to save consistently.

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Oloworaran also proposed a pension inclusion map combining EFInA’s survey evidence with PenCom’s regulatory and industry data to identify pension gaps according to geography, gender, age, occupation and income.

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“As we roll out the Personal Pension Plan, I invite EFInA to work with PenCom and the industry to test what works, from digital onboarding to accredited pension agent distribution framework, transaction-based savings, matching incentives and behavioural models,” she said.

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She stressed that merely opening pension accounts would not solve the problem if workers failed to contribute regularly.

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“An account that is open but never funded will not provide dignity in retirement. One true measure of success is whether Nigerians are saving consistently and accumulating enough to live on when they can no longer work,” Oloworaran said.

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Presenting the survey findings, EFInA Chief Executive Officer, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, said pension penetration remained weak across demographic groups despite the broader expansion of financial services.

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She said pension coverage stood at about nine per cent nationally, rising to only 12 per cent among urban residents and 13 per cent among the richest 60 per cent of the population.

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The survey, conducted between April and June 2026 under the supervision of the National Bureau of Statistics, covered 18,679 adults aged 18 and above across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. EFInA said it achieved about 98 per cent of its targeted sample of 18,950 respondents.

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Beyond pensions, the findings showed that overall financial inclusion climbed to 79 per cent in 2026, while financial exclusion declined to 21 per cent from 26 per cent in 2023. Formal financial inclusion stood at 73 per cent, while the use of digital financial services reached 64 per cent.

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However, access to products capable of building long-term financial resilience remained limited. Only 10 per cent of adults had formal credit, while insurance penetration stood at five per cent, meaning about 95 per cent of adults remained outside the insurance system.

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Akinjayeju warned that increased access to financial services had not translated proportionately into improved financial well-being. Financial health rose from 16 per cent in 2023 to 25 per cent in 2026, leaving three out of four adults financially unhealthy.

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“Access is increasing, but financial health is not catching up at the same pace,” she said.

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The report also found significant geographical and gender disparities. Formal inclusion was 85 per cent among urban adults compared with 58 per cent in rural areas, representing a 27-percentage-point divide. Formal inclusion among women stood at 67 per cent, with the national gender gap remaining at 11 percentage points.

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EFInA Board Chair, Dr Agnes Olatokunbo Martins, said Nigeria needed to shift its attention from simply providing accounts and financial applications to assessing whether access was improving people’s economic opportunities.

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“Access is only the beginning of the journey; it is not the destination,” Martins said, adding that financial inclusion should ultimately help households and businesses manage their finances and participate more productively in the economy.

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, represented by the Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Dr Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, acknowledged that pensions, insurance and credit remained underused despite improvements in financial inclusion.

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He said, “The policy challenge before us is therefore no longer simply to open an account or expand access point. It is to ensure meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, trust, and measurable improvement in financial health.”

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Cardoso disclosed that the review of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 3.0 had been completed, with work beginning on NFIS 4.0, which would place greater emphasis on data, accountability, consumer protection and financial health.

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Also speaking, Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Moniepoint Group, Edidiong Uwemakpan, said better use of financial data could help bring excluded Nigerians, particularly women entrepreneurs, into the formal financial system.

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She said 62 per cent of female entrepreneurs surveyed in Moniepoint’s impact study received their first formal business loan through the company, while 83 per cent of users reported improved quality of life and 85 per cent expressed greater confidence in achieving their financial goals.

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The Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, Johannes Lehne, said Germany would use the survey findings to better align its development cooperation with Nigeria’s needs, particularly efforts aimed at expanding economic participation among women and in the agricultural sector.

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He said Germany wanted to contribute to “a prosperous and all-inclusive Nigeria,” noting that cooperation between both countries had lasted for more than 50 years.

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