Despite a rise in the number of contributors to the micro pension fund, informal sector workers are reducing their contributions and the economic hardship’s impact on the scheme. According to the National Pension Commission (PenCom) report for the first quarter of 2024, total contributions from Micro Pension Contributors (MPCs) dropped by 35.4 percent to N111.4 million, down from N150.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Conversely, the number of new MPC registrations saw a significant increase, growing by 40.7 percent to 12,559 in Q1 2024 from 8,927 in Q4 2023. The micro-pension plan (MPP), aimed at encouraging pension savings among low-income, self-employed, and informal sector workers, forms a key part of the Federal Government’s financial inclusion strategy. However, the scheme has not met its ambitious enrollment target of nine million registrants by 2023, with only 126,941 contributors registered as of March 31, 2024.
The report detailed that Access Pensions Limited led new registrations in Q1 2024, accounting for 80.1 percent of the total with 10,058 new participants, followed by Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited with 1,628 new registrations. Since the inception of the MPP, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, ARM Pension Managers Limited, and Access Pensions Limited have registered the most MPCs, with 25,149 (19.81 percent), 24,341 (19.18 percent), and 23,030 (18.14 percent) contributors respectively.
Source: Vanguard