Nigeria’s pension industry sustained its upward trajectory in May 2025, as total pension fund assets rose to N24.10 trillion, reflecting a 1.91% month-on-month growth from N23.65 trillion in April.
This is according to the latest data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
The increase was driven by a combination of new Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registrations, robust investment income, and strategic reallocations across asset classes (both fixed-income and alternative investment classes), despite economic headwinds.
Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Securities maintained their status as the cornerstone of pension investments, rising slightly by 2.04% to N14.95 trillion, and accounting for 62.06% of total pension assets.
The distribution under the FGN Securities shows that:
Notably, total investments in Corporate Debt Securities dropped marginally by 0.98% to N2.29 trillion, constituting 9.51% of total NAV.
Pension assets allocated to money market instruments grew by 6.07% to N2.31 trillion — the strongest month-on-month gain across asset classes.
The instruments categorized under the Money market are allocated as follows:
Diving into the equities markets revealed that both the domestic equities and foreign share recorded growth.
Domestic Equities advanced 6.78% to N2.75 trillion, now accounting for 11.40% of NAV, reflecting improved sentiment toward the Nigerian Exchange.
Foreign Equities rose 4.67% to N290 billion, signaling gradual risk diversification.
As of May 2025, total RSA registrations reached 10.76 million, up from 10.72 million in April, maintaining consistent growth in coverage.
Notably, Closed Pension Fund Administrators (CPFAs) and Approved Existing Schemes (AES) held N2.62 trillion and N2.85 trillion, marking solid double-digit, accounting for 10.80% and 11.81% of the total NAV, respectively.
The data for May 2025 underscores the cautious optimism guiding Nigeria’s Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who continue to lean on FGN instruments for stability while trying to explore high-yield alternatives like private equity, infrastructure, and foreign markets.
The uptick in foreign equity and private markets signals that PFAs are gradually seeking returns beyond the traditional safe havens — a trend likely to continue in a high-inflation, low-interest rate environment.