The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said the pension industry has committed ₦241 billion to mobilise long-term capital for infrastructure development, with the amount expected to rise to nearly ₦300 billion as additional commitments come in.
PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing following the commission’s meeting, saying the commitment represented the first major step in efforts to channel pension funds into infrastructure projects capable of delivering long-term returns to contributors.
She said the initiative was being implemented through the Pension Industry Infrastructure Consortium, established in partnership with FSD Africa, with the first tranche of funds expected to be deployed by the second quarter of 2027.
According to her, the industry is working towards completing the necessary processes, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding with FSD Africa and the appointment of a fund manager.
“The pension industry has committed a total of ₦241 billion, and we expect that to touch almost ₦300 billion very soon, as soon as we get all the commitments in,” Oloworaran said.
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She added that the commission had set a timeline for concluding the process, with the first deployment targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
“This is just the first step we are taking as an industry, and this is just the beginning, because this is a sector we are committed to,” she said.
The PenCom boss stressed that the ₦241 billion was a commitment and not yet an investment, noting that discussions were ongoing with other development partners who could potentially match the amount committed by the pension industry.
She said the specific infrastructure projects to receive the funds had not been determined, as the process was still at the mobilisation and structuring stage.
“We haven’t invested any money just yet. This is just a commitment in terms of what the industry will do,” she said.
Oloworaran explained that infrastructure investments were attractive to pension funds because of their long-term nature and potential to provide returns that could serve as a hedge against inflation.
She, however, stressed that PenCom would not compel Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in specific projects, as investment decisions remained subject to the interests of pension contributors and applicable regulatory requirements.
“It’s out of the free will of everyone to look at what is in the best interest of contributors who they need to deliver the best outcomes to, and then on that basis take their decision,” she said.
The commission also approved an independent global benchmark maturity assessment for the pension industry as part of efforts to align its operations with international standards and best practices.
Oloworaran said PenCom was also working with industry stakeholders on a Pensions 2030 Transformation Agenda, designed to consolidate ongoing reforms and establish a longer-term vision for the industry.
She said the agenda remained at the conceptual stage, with further engagements planned with regulators, development partners and other stakeholders before its formalisation.
On the government’s outstanding pension obligations, Oloworaran said an enrolment exercise was ongoing for employees who were in service before 2004 to enable the government to determine the number of affected workers and the financial value of its obligations.
She said the exercise would provide the basis for funding the outstanding obligations and enabling affected Retirement Savings Account holders to begin earning returns on their funds ahead of retirement.
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