Leadway Pensure PFA Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading pension fund administrators, says Nigeria’s Personal Pension Plan (PPP) will reshape small business owners’ retirement savings, making them more flexible and accessible and ultimately reducing the risk of old-age poverty.
The company maintains that the initiative plays a critical role in Nigerian economic development, given that informal employment remains extremely high. The country’s informal employment rate reached 92.7% in Q1 2024, rising from 92.3% in Q3 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Labour Force Survey. Tens of millions of economically active Nigerians operate outside employer-led pension arrangements even as they power the country’s commerce and micro-enterprise economy.
At the same time, the pension ecosystem continues to expand in scale. PenCom’s unaudited industry portfolio for December 31, 2025, records total pension fund assets at ₦27.451 trillion and counts over 11 million RSA members. These figures underscore the size of the formal pension system and highlight the opportunity to extend participation further through PPP.
Leadway Pensure PFA sees significant growth potential for PPP, along with a notable participation gap. PenCom’s Q3 2025 report reveals that, as of September 30, 2025, over 200,000 workers had registered PPP accounts, but only 7.6% funded during the quarter.
Commenting, Olusakin Labeodan, MD/CEO, Leadway Pensure PFA, said, “Small businesses are Nigeria’s economic backbone, yet many owners lack disciplined retirement security. The Personal Pension Plan allows flexible contributions that match income realities, helping entrepreneurs secure their future as they build their businesses. With strong participation, PPP can help move more Nigerians toward stability and deserved dignity in retirement.”
He added that driving adoption will require sustained education and simpler onboarding. “Our focus is to convert awareness into consistent contributions by meeting informal workers where they are and through digital access, targeted community engagement, and guidance that makes pension planning feel practical, not distant.”
Leadway Pensure PFA said its renewed PPP awareness drive will focus on helping informal sector participants understand how to enroll for PPP, make contributions that suit their cash flow, whether monthly, quarterly, or as lump sums, track savings growth through digital channels, and access advisory support to maximize retirement planning benefits. Leadway Pensure invites self-employed Nigerians and small business owners to take advantage of the Personal Pension Plan today to secure their future.