Growth in pension assets dropped to a 12-month low of N61.9 billion at the end of March 2025 due to outflows.
After a recovery in May 2024 from a negative position in March 2024, pension assets growth remained in an upward trend despite market fluctuations until March 2025’s sharp drop.
The drop, according to analysts, in the pension industry was due to outflows from approved existing schemes.
Existing schemes, according to the National Pension Commission (PenCom) guidelines, include: staff retirement benefit funds, retirees’ funds, gratuity funds and any other form of compensation fund put in place by employers.
A chief investment officer in one of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who would not want his name mentioned, said: “The drop could be linked to approved existing schemes (AES) because they make payments to beneficiaries.”
“It’s possible some AES schemes had large outflows during the period,” he said.
Data from PenCom) show negative results in existing schemes, which dropped from N2.84 trillion in February to N2.77 trillion in March.
Within the one-year period, pension asset growth of N256.8 billion was recorded in July 2024; N304.9 billion in August; N345.7 billion in September; N244.7 billion in October; N541.0 billion in November, and N254.5 billion in December. The assets stood at N349.3 billion in January and N405.3 billion in February.
Oguche Agudah, chief executive officer, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), commenting on a drop in the growth of pension assets, said some previously existing schemes have recently been contracted to PFAs to manage.