The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has warned pension operators yet to meet the industry’s recapitalisation requirements to comply with the directive ahead of the July 2027 deadline, saying stronger capital bases must translate into better returns and improved retirement security for Nigerian workers.
Omolola Oloworaran, director-general of PenCom, issued the warning at the 11th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos, where she urged operators that had yet to meet the requirements to act urgently.
“There’s no going back. Go and meet your capital requirements with urgency,” Oloworaran said, stressing that compliance with the directive remained necessary to strengthen institutions operating in the pension industry.
She said recapitalisation was intended to improve the ability of regulated institutions to withstand economic and financial shocks, particularly given their responsibility for managing funds central to the financial security of millions of Nigerians.
However, the PenCom DG said stronger institutions would mean little if contributors did not experience improvements in the value and quality of services provided by pension operators.
According to her, the objective of reforming the industry should go beyond increasing the size of pension assets and strengthening the balance sheets of operators to ensuring that workers can retire with greater financial security and dignity.
“Beyond recapitalisation, yes, industries are bigger, more resilient and all of that. But at the end of the day, the person, the human we exist to serve, is not feeling the impact. Then what is the importance of all the reforms we put out,” she said.
Oloworaran said the commission was placing greater emphasis on how pension assets are allocated and invested to generate improved returns for contributors, rather than focusing solely on the accumulation of funds within the system.
Her remarks put the performance of pension investments and the benefits received by contributors at the centre of the recapitalisation debate, particularly as the industry prepares to meet the July 2027 compliance deadline.
Wale Oshin, group managing director and chief executive officer of Custodian Investment Plc, also called for closer cooperation between pension fund administrators, insurance companies and other industry stakeholders to strengthen retirement security.
Oshin said collaboration should extend beyond regulatory engagement to practical cooperation among operators, particularly in protecting the interests of retirees and holders of annuity products.
He noted that recapitalisation could strengthen the financial capacity of operators, improve their resilience and support investment in technology. It could also enhance their ability to meet long-term obligations, he said.
However, he cautioned that raising additional capital would not, on its own, guarantee better outcomes for customers, arguing that the effectiveness of the exercise should be measured by the quality of services and retirement benefits delivered.
Oshin urged operators to prioritise sustainable business practices instead of treating recapitalisation as a regulatory exercise to be completed. He also called for greater attention to annuities and retirement income, warning that inadequate benefits could weaken public confidence in the pension system.
Similarly, Ebere Nwoji, chairman of NAIPE, said recapitalisation in the insurance and pension industries should strengthen their capacity to support individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
She said the capital raised by operators in both sectors needed to be deployed prudently to generate sustainable returns and contribute to economic growth.
According to Nwoji, the recently concluded insurance recapitalisation exercise has strengthened insurers’ capacity to underwrite larger risks and provide greater protection for individuals and businesses.
She encouraged Nigerians to take advantage of the increased financial capacity of insurance companies by purchasing suitable insurance policies, noting that effective risk transfer could help protect households and businesses against financial losses.
On the pension side, she said the recapitalisation exercise, expected to be completed by July 2027, presented an opportunity to strengthen the retirement system and improve the capacity of Pension Fund Administrators to safeguard workers’ savings.
Nwoji expressed optimism that the reforms would help pension operators protect contributors’ funds and generate better returns, provided the enlarged capital base was managed and invested prudently.
