Nigeria’s pension assets rose by N1.42 trillion in April to a record N30.94 trillion, with more than half of the country’s retirement savings invested in federal government securities.

This is according to the latest industry portfolio report released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).  

The report showed that total pension assets increased from N29.52 trillion in March to N30.94 trillion in April, representing a 4.8 per cent month-on-month growth.  

The increase shows the continued expansion of Nigeria’s contributory pension scheme and comes amid a high-interest-rate environment that has made government debt instruments attractive to institutional investors.

Data from the report also showed that pension fund administrators held N17.36 trillion in federal government securities at the end of April, accounting for about 56 per cent of total pension assets.  

The investments include federal government bonds, treasury bills, Sukuk bonds, green bonds and agency bonds.

Government debt preference

A breakdown of the portfolio showed that pension funds invested N13.4 trillion in the federal government bonds held to maturity and another N2.73 trillion in bonds classified as available-for-sale. Holdings of treasury bills stood at N1.11 trillion.  

The strong preference for government securities shows the industry’s focus on preserving capital while generating stable returns for contributors.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has maintained a tight monetary policy stance in recent months, keeping benchmark interest rates elevated and supporting yields on fixed-income instruments.

Stock market investments exceed N6.7 trillion

Domestic equities remained the second-largest asset class in pension portfolios, with investments valued at N6.51 trillion at the end of April. 

Pension funds also held N269.25 billion in foreign equities, bringing total equity exposure to about N6.78 trillion.  

Corporate debt securities accounted for N2.25 trillion of total assets, while money market instruments stood at N2.66 trillion.  

The report also showed that pension funds held N262.58 billion in mutual funds, N256.96 billion in private equity investments and N167.33 billion in real estate assets.  

Infrastructure remains modest

Despite efforts by policymakers to attract long-term pension capital to infrastructure development, infrastructure fund investments stood at N312.61 billion as of April. 

Pension funds also held N49.68 billion in corporate infrastructure bonds.  

Together, the investments remain significantly lower than pension holdings in government securities.

Among the various Retirement Savings Account (RSA) categories, Fund II remained the largest, with net assets of N13.36 trillion, followed by Fund III with N7.81 trillion.  

The PenCom report further showed that RSA membership rose to 11.23 million contributors as of April 2026, reflecting the gradual expansion of pension coverage in the country.  

Nigeria’s pension assets have maintained a steady upward trajectory over the years, driven by new contributions from workers and employers, investment income and growing participation in the contributory pension scheme.