The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that cumulative Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registrations under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to 11,183,475 at the end of the first quarter of this year.
In the commission’s Q1 2026 report released on Monday, the cumulative RSA registrations grew by 143,248 accounts in Q1, up from 11,040,227 recorded at the end of Q4 2025.
Based on quarter-on-quarter analysis, the PenCom reported that the quarterly cadence was materially stronger than the 114,864 opened in Q4, and reflected both improved digital onboarding and sustained public sensitisation.
But then, despite the growth in RSA registrations in Q1 this year, the report’s data reflected that active pension membership currently covers about 12.1 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 92-million workforce.
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An analysis of the operators’ performance reflected that the top five Pension Fund Administrators accounted for 54.41 per cent of new RSA registrations during the quarter under review, representing a significant drop from the 62.11 per cent market concentration recorded in the preceding quarter.
Specifically, the report showed that Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers maintained its market leadership by securing 25,024 new registrations, about 17.47 per cent of the total; AccessARM Pension followed with 10.63 per cent, FCMB Pensions recorded 10.15 per cent, TangerineAPT Pension registered 9.65 per cent, and Trustfund Pensions accounted for 6.73 per cent.
According to the PenCom, the demographic distribution of the registration indicates that female registrations accounted for 44.08 per cent of new contributors compared with male registrations, which stood at 55.92 per cent as of the end of Q1 2026
The commission described the trend as evidence of a narrowing gender gap in pension enrolment based on the increasing female employees in the formal workforce.
In addition, the report’s data showed that contributors under 40 years of age dominated new enrolments, accounting for 75.31 per cent of all registrations in the quarter.
The PenCom described this new trend as a major structural asset to the pension system and advised fund managers to structure investment strategies around this young demographic profile as longer investment horizons allow room for greater risk-bearing capacity and sustained long-term wealth creation through growth-oriented asset classes like domestic equities and infrastructure funds.
To improve CPS registration nationwide, the commission has continued to create awareness about its Micro Pension Plan, which was recently renamed the Personal Pension Plan, to capture self-employed workers and micro-enterprises.
Following improved awareness about the CPS and more registration by workers, the CPS total assets under management have now surpassed N30 trillion even as prospects for improved registration of workers in the informal sector continues to look bright.
The CPS, which was established sequel to the enactment of the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and amended in 2014, replaced the old pay-as-you-go Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) to safeguard retirement funds through a fully funded, privately managed pension architecture for public and private sector employees.
