The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) has indicated that efforts were being made to enrol informal sector employees in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) through the micro-pension scheme.

Specifically, the Commission said that it was already finalizing the arrangements with the planned introduction of the Micro Pension Plan into the informal sector with effect from the first quarter of next year.

Acting Director-General, of PENCOM, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, who spoke on the initiative while addressing the 6th Conference for Directors of Pension Operators in Lagos, said that due to the modest achievements recorded in the implementation of the CPS, there was an increasing clamour by pension contributors to redirect their retirement savings towards solving their health, unemployment and other similar problems.

In his keynote address at the forum titled ‘Consolidating the Nigerian Pension Industry through Sustainable Investment and Excellence in Corporate Governance Practice’, a former Director-General of the commission, Muhammad Ahmad, called on the industry players to have diversified portfolios.

He urged PenCom to begin to consider investments that promote long term benefits and operators to build expertise on sustainability, pointing out that the industry will survive when there are sustainable investment reviews.