The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has licensed Awabah as Nigeria’s first Accredited Pension Agent (APA) for the enrolment of contributors under the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), marking a major milestone in efforts to deepen pension inclusion across the country.
The approval was announced by PenCom via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday, February 6, 2026. The move is aimed at expanding pension coverage among self-employed individuals and workers in the informal sector—groups that have historically remained outside the contributory pension system.
Accredited Pension Agents are corporate entities licensed by PenCom to interface with self-employed persons and informal sector workers on behalf of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). They operate strictly under Service Level Agreements (SLAs) executed with PFAs and approved by the Commission to ensure full compliance with regulatory standards.
Commenting on the development, PenCom explained that the Personal Pension Plan was specifically designed to cater to individuals operating outside formal employment structures, including artisans, traders, freelancers, consultants, and professionals such as lawyers, doctors, and accountants.
According to the Commission, “Awabah has been licensed by PenCom as the first APA to support marketing and registration of participants into the PPP as part of the Commission’s commitment to expand pension coverage across the Nigerian workforce.”
Awabah is also a PenCom-approved Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP), offering a secure, free, and instant digital platform that enables employers to remit mandatory pension contributions and schedules to any Pension Fund Administrator in Nigeria.
PenCom’s approval of Awabah follows regulatory groundwork laid in recent months to formalise the role of intermediaries in pension enrolment. In September 2025, the Commission issued a framework for the engagement of Accredited Pension Agents in the implementation of the Personal Pension Plan, expanding their scope beyond Retirement Savings Account (RSA) registration to include onboarding contributors under the PPP.
Under this framework, APAs are formally recognised as key stakeholders in the pension industry, empowered to improve access, simplify onboarding processes, and support consistent remittance of pension contributions, particularly within the informal sector.
The licensing of Awabah also aligns with PenCom’s broader strategy of strengthening compliance and accountability in the pension system. In December 2025, the Commission disclosed that it had accredited pension recovery agents to recover over N32 billion from defaulting employers, reinforcing protections for contributors’ funds.
Overall, the development underscores PenCom’s dual focus on expanding pension coverage while modernising administration and enforcement, as it works to bring millions of Nigerians into a more secure and inclusive pension system.
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