Kenyan Pension Regulator Visits PenCom To Understudy Nigeria’s Pension Reforms

By Sola Alabadan

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) received a delegation from Kenya’s Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) on Monday in Abuja, for a four-day visit to understudy the Nigeria’s pension reforms.
The visit reflects Nigeria’s increasing recognition as a reference point for pension reform and regulatory innovation across Africa.
The four-member Kenyan delegation, led by John Keah, Director of Market Conduct and Industry Development at the RBA, is in Nigeria from June 8 to 11, to understudy PenCom’s regulatory and supervisory frameworks.
Speaking during the opening session of the visit in Abuja, John Keah, said the engagement reflects the importance of cross-border learning among pension regulators seeking to strengthen retirement systems and improve pension outcomes for their citizens.
According to him, Kenya and Nigeria share several structural similarities in their pension landscapes, making Nigeria’s experiences particularly relevant to ongoing reforms in Kenya.
“We are here to learn from Nigeria’s experiences and assess how some of those lessons can be adapted to our own environment. We are particularly interested in PenCom’s ESG initiatives, risk-based supervision framework, strategies for expanding pension coverage to the informal sector and the Diaspora Pension Arrangement,” he said.
He also commended the governance safeguards embedded in Nigeria’s pension architecture and described the Diaspora Pension Arrangement as an innovative initiative with significant potential to enhance retirement security and reduce old-age poverty.
The Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, who received the delegation, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to knowledge sharing and regional collaboration to strengthen pension systems across Africa.
Represented by the Director of the Surveillance Department, Abdulrahaman Muhammad Saleem, the Director General highlighted the remarkable growth recorded under Nigeria’s CPS since its introduction.
She disclosed that pension assets under management have grown to over ₦32 trillion, representing approximately 10.4 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). She said growth in pension assets over the years reflects the sustained success of the country’s pension reform implemented since 2004.
The PenCom DG said the industry’s growth has been driven by consistent regulatory reforms, stronger governance standards and enhanced supervisory mechanisms designed to protect contributors’ funds and improve retirement outcomes.
The Director General described the Federal Government’s recent settlement of outstanding accrued pension rights liabilities as one of the most significant milestones in the history of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). The intervention addressed a longstanding challenge that had left many retirees from Treasury-Funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) facing prolonged delays in accessing their accrued pension rights because of funding constraints and delayed budget releases.
“The issuance of a Federal Government bond to settle the accrued rights liabilities has transformed the retirement experience for public sector employees. Accrued pension rights are now transferred directly into retirees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA), enabling immediate access to investment returns and eliminating lengthy waiting periods,” she stated.
She noted that while significant progress has been made, PenCom remains focused on advancing reforms that will further strengthen governance, enhance retirement security, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the CPS.
The technical study visit, themed “Risk-Based Supervision and ESG Integration in Pension Funds,” features presentations and interactive sessions by several PenCom departments.
The programme also includes study visits to selected PFAs and a concluding feedback session on lessons learned, emerging risks and future areas of collaboration between the two regulatory institutions.
The engagement is expected to deepen cooperation between Nigeria and Kenya while fostering the exchange of regulatory best practices that support the development of more resilient, inclusive and sustainable pension systems across Africa.