PENCOM DG, Omolola Oloworaran, Announces that Nigerians Can Now Save Their Pension Contributions Through POS Terminals
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has said Nigerians in the informal sector can now save for retirement through Point of Sale (POS) terminals operated by fintech companies.
Oloworaran disclosed this at an event in Abuja on Monday, explaining that the initiative aims to boost informal pension contributions nationwide.
She noted that the pension coverage in the informal sector currently stands at just 0.25 percent, describing the figure as extremely low. According to the DG, the Commission has accredited its first pension agent, Awabah, as part of its efforts to deepen financial inclusion and bring more Nigerians from the informal sector.
Oloworaran said, “What we should expect is pension penetration. Coverage at the moment in the informal sector is 0.25 percent, rounded down to 0 percent, so essentially we are not doing anything in this area.”
She also added that Nigeria operates largely as an informal economy, meaning most citizens are yet to be captured in the pension system.
Oloworaran stressed that the new approach would take pension contribution services closer to the people.
“It is for them to take pensions to the street and everywhere in Nigeria to make sure that no Nigerian is left behind in retirement savings,” she said, adding that contributors can now use mobile phones and POS terminals conveniently.
She further explained that the system allows informal workers to make seamless pension contributions without stress. “What it means is that the informal sector can contribute their pension with mobile phones. It is convenient and seamless,” Oloworaran stated.
Speaking on the initiative, the Co-founder of Awabah, Tuji Andrews, said the fintech firm is focused on capturing and expanding the pension contributions of the informal sector in Nigeria. He explained that the goal is to make the majority of Nigerians pensionable regardless of their employment status.
“Our goal is to drive personal pension penetration in Nigeria,” Andrews said. He added, “What we are trying to do is that Nigerians can approach any POS to pay for their personal pension. We want to make it for Nigerians to make their monthly pension contributions.”
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