By Rosemary Iwunze
The National Pension Commission, PenCom, has said cumulative Retirement Savings Account, RSA registrations under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, rose by 11,183,475 in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1’26) to 11,183,475, from 11,040,227 recorded in Q4’25.
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PenCom, in its first-quarter 2026 report, said active membership now corresponds to approximately 12.1 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 92 million-strong labour force.
The report noted: “Cumulative RSA registrations rose from 11,040,227 at the end of Q4’2025 to 11,183,475 at the end of Q1’2026, on the back of 143,248 new accounts opened during the quarter. The quarterly cadence is materially stronger than the 114,864 opened in Q4, and reflects both improved digital onboarding and sustained public sensitisation.
“Active membership now corresponds to approximately 12.1% of Nigeria’s estimated 92 million labour force, leaving substantial headroom for growth, particularly in the informal sector.”
PenCom noted that among Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), the top five accounted for 54.41 per cent of new RSA registrations in Q1, a mild reduction from the 62.11 per cent recorded in Q4 2025.
“Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers led the industry with 25,024 new registrations (17.47%), followed by AccessARM (10.63%), FCMB Pensions (10.15%), TangerineAPT (9.65%) and Trustfund (6.73%).
“Competition is intensifying in the mid-tier, and TangerineAPT’s emergence into the top five is a signal that the market is not settled.”
On gender, PenCom noted that female registrations accounted for 44.08 per cent of the Q1 cohort, while male registrations accounted for 55.92 per cent.
“This continues the trend of steadily narrowing gender disparity in pension enrolment, consistent with rising female workforce participation and sustained sensitisation targeted at broader inclusion,” PenCom noted.
The report stated that 75.31 per cent of new RSAs in Q1 were opened by Nigerians under the age of 40.
“This remains the single most important long-term asset of the system: a young, expanding contributor base whose retirement horizon extends beyond 2055. Investment policy should be calibrated to this reality. Long horizons justify, and indeed require, more risk-bearing capacity than the current 58.07% allocation to Federal Government securities reflects.”
PenCom noted that pension reform succeeds only when it reaches the right Nigerians in the right numbers, across both the formal economy and the much larger informal sector.
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