RismadarVoice Reporters
September 16, 2026
About nine in every 10 Nigerian adults remain outside the country’s formal pension system despite an increase in pension participation over the past three years, a new financial inclusion survey has revealed.
Nigeria’s pension coverage increased from 7.8 per cent of the adult population in 2023 to 9.1 per cent in 2026, highlighting a significant retirement security gap, particularly among millions of workers operating in the informal economy.
The findings were contained in the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey released in Abuja on Wednesday.
Speaking during the presentation of the findings, Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, said the improvement in participation was encouraging but remained insufficient considering the size of Nigeria’s working population.
She said millions of traders, farmers, mechanics, drivers, tailors, hairdressers and workers in the digital economy continued to earn incomes without accumulating sufficient financial protection for retirement.
Oloworaran described expanding pension coverage among informal-sector workers as one of the major challenges confronting pension reform in the country.
PENCOM SEEKS EXPANSION OF PENSION COVERAGE
The PenCom Director-General said financial inclusion should extend beyond access to bank accounts and payment services to financial products capable of providing Nigerians with long-term economic security.
According to her, pensions provide an important connection between income earned during a person’s working years and financial welfare after retirement.
She said PenCom was redesigning its pension inclusion strategy through the Personal Pension Plan, with particular attention to workers outside conventional salaried employment.
The commission is also seeking greater use of digital onboarding, accredited pension agents, transaction-based savings, matching incentives and behavioural approaches capable of encouraging regular contributions.
Oloworaran proposed the development of a pension inclusion map combining survey findings with regulatory and pension-industry data.
Such a system, she said, could help identify gaps in pension participation based on geography, gender, age, occupation and income.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS CRITICAL TO RETIREMENT SECURITY
The PenCom chief stressed that increasing the number of registered pension accounts would have limited impact unless account holders contributed consistently.
“An account that is open but never funded will not provide dignity in retirement,” Oloworaran said.
She said the more important measure of pension inclusion was whether Nigerians were consistently saving and accumulating sufficient resources to support themselves when they could no longer work.
The survey showed that pension penetration remained weak across demographic groups.
National coverage stood at approximately nine per cent, increasing to about 12 per cent among urban residents and 13 per cent among the wealthiest 60 per cent of the population.
The research was conducted between April and June 2026 under the supervision of the National Bureau of Statistics and covered 18,679 adults aged 18 and above across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The survey achieved approximately 98 per cent of its targeted sample of 18,950 respondents.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION RISES TO 79%
While pension coverage remained low, the report showed broader improvements in access to financial services across Nigeria.
Overall financial inclusion increased to 79 per cent in 2026, while the proportion of financially excluded adults declined from 26 per cent in 2023 to 21 per cent.
Formal financial inclusion reached 73 per cent, while 64 per cent of adults were using digital financial services.
However, access to financial products designed to strengthen long-term economic resilience remained considerably lower.
Only 10 per cent of adults had access to formal credit, while insurance penetration stood at five per cent, leaving approximately 95 per cent of Nigerian adults outside the formal insurance system.
THREE IN FOUR ADULTS REMAIN FINANCIALLY UNHEALTHY
The findings also indicated that wider access to financial services had not resulted in comparable improvements in the financial well-being of Nigerians.
Financial health increased from 16 per cent in 2023 to 25 per cent in 2026.
The figures suggest that approximately three out of every four adults remain financially unhealthy despite increased access to formal and digital financial services.
The report said the challenge had consequently shifted from merely expanding financial access towards ensuring that available financial products improved household resilience and economic opportunities.
URBAN-RURAL, GENDER GAPS PERSIST
Significant geographical disparities were also identified.
Formal financial inclusion among urban adults stood at 85 per cent, compared with 58 per cent among people living in rural communities, representing a 27-percentage-point difference.
Among women, formal financial inclusion stood at 67 per cent, while the national gender gap remained at 11 percentage points.
The findings underscore continuing challenges in extending financial services to rural communities, women and workers operating outside the formal economy.
CBN SEEKS GREATER FOCUS ON MEANINGFUL FINANCIAL ACCESS
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the country’s financial inclusion challenge was increasingly moving beyond simply opening accounts and expanding financial service points.
Represented at the event by the Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Dr Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, Cardoso said greater attention should be placed on meaningful usage, affordability, reliability, safety, consumer trust and measurable improvements in financial health.
He disclosed that the review of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 3.0 had been completed and work had begun on NFIS 4.0.
The new framework is expected to place greater emphasis on data, accountability, consumer protection and financial health.
Stakeholders at the event also called for improved use of financial data to identify underserved groups and expand economic opportunities, particularly for women, entrepreneurs and people working in agriculture and the informal sector.
The latest findings indicate that while Nigeria has recorded progress in bringing more adults into the formal financial system, substantial gaps remain in pensions, insurance, credit and other services considered important for long-term financial security.
