Nigeria’s pension remittances plunge 38% to N559 billion in Q1 2026

In the first quarter of 2026, Nigeria's pension remittances dropped 38% to N559 billion, according to the National Pension Commission's (PenCom) latest report. This decline follows a strong performance in the final quarter of 2025, with a sharp dip in the first three months of the year. The public sector contributed 50.9% of the total pension remittances, while private sector contributions made up the remaining 49.1%.

Despite the decline, PenCom's data indicated that the level of contributions remained healthy. The commission recovered N1.18 billion from 15 defaulting employers during the quarter, including N450 million in outstanding pension contributions and N729 million in penalties. PenCom also intensified enforcement actions by collaborating with the ICPC on unresolved compliance cases, interrogating six employers in the process.

The report also highlighted the increasing adoption of the pension-backed mortgage framework, with 28,437 contributors withdrawing N92.7 billion from their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) to fund residential mortgages under Section 89(2) of the Pension Reform Act. This development is seen as a strong indication that the initiative is gaining widespread acceptance among contributors.