Experts outline retirement strategies for artisans, traders

Financial experts and regulatory leaders have converged to address the pension gap in Nigeria’s informal sector, providing a strategic roadmap to transition millions of artisans, traders, and farmers from “daily survival” to a life of structured financial security.

The move comes as preparations hit top gear for the 2026 InspenOnline Retirement Summit, themed “Meeting Retirement Dreams of Informal Sector Workers with Insurance and Pension Instruments”, scheduled to be held in Lagos.

“Our primary goal is to ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of their employment status, can retire with dignity and financial security,” stated the Publisher of Inspenonline and organiser of the summit, Chuks Okonta, in a statement sent to our reporter on Tuesday.

“We are providing a platform where the financial ecosystem can align with the realities of the informal sector, moving them away from the risks of old-age poverty toward a more secure and predictable future,” he added.

The initiative targets over 90 per cent of the Nigerian workforce currently operating without structured retirement plans. By focusing on the Personal Pension Plan and tailored life insurance products, the summit aims to integrate these workers into the national financial safety net.

“A country cannot build enduring prosperity when the majority of its workforce ages into vulnerability,” noted the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, who is expected as a special guest of honour.

“The informal economy contributes significantly to national output. If even a fraction of that income were systematically saved through pensions, the result would be trillions of naira in long-term domestic capital for infrastructure and enterprise,” she said in the statement.

Adding an economic perspective, the CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, emphasised the need for a pragmatic approach to this integration. “Any serious discussion of reform must confront the scale of the informal economy. The objective should be to grow the safety net organically through incentives and simplified tools, not through forced compliance,” Yusuf remarked.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, also reinforced the commitment of the regulatory bodies to evolve with the times. “We must reimagine the untapped potential of Nigeria’s insurance market. Sustainable transformation can only be achieved through shared commitment among regulators, operators, and stakeholders to deliver measurable economic value to every citizen,” Omosehin said.