Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom) says those who desire retirement security must begin early in life to plan for it and invest accordingly.
Oloworaran said during the youth engagement session under the theme ‘Hustle and Your Future: Planning Starts Now’, that 40 percent of the Nigerian population are under the age of 35 years, making them a prime target for pension inclusion and retirement planning.
“Look at what young Nigerians are doing. Gen Zs are building tech companies, exporting code to the world, taking Afrobeats and Nollywood to every continent and freelancing for clients in Lagos, London and Los Angeles before lunchtime.”
She added: “We will not ask you to fit into an old system. We will build a system that fits the work that you do.”
The PenCom boss invited Nigerians in the informal sector to embrace the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) of the Commission to actualize their various talents and experiences in the marketplace.
She gave the examples of Tolu and Emeka, with Tolu accumulating over N113 million at 60 by saving N10, 000 from the age of 20, while Emeka retired with N13 million because he began saving from the age of 40.
“Tolu did not earn more. Tolu did not work harder. Tolu simply started earlier. And that is the power of compounding. Enjoy the soft life like I like to do myself. Just do not let today’s soft life become tomorrow’s hard life.”
The PenCom DG added: “If a young Nigerian can order food in two clicks, opening a pension account must not take one day.”
