Stanbic leads in pension RSA Growth, Access aggressively behind amid rising competition

Nigeria’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) landscape has shown a surge in new registrations for the second quarter of 2023, further solidifying the steady growth recorded in Q1.

This is based on the second quarter National Pension Report released by industry regulator PENCOM.

The latest figures reveal an 82% youth participation rate, highlighting the younger generation’s growing involvement in the nation’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

According to the Q2 2023 report, 63,693 new Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) were registered.

Notably, 52,079 of these new accounts, or 82%, belonged to individuals under the age of 40.

For comparison, the first quarter of the year, which ended on March 31, 2023, saw 83,654 new RSAs.

Among these, 70,407 account holders, or 84%, were under the age of 40, while 46% were even younger, falling below the age of 30.

Competition for RSA members

A detailed analysis of RSA registrations shows that Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers led the way with 19,076 new accounts, marking a 30% increase over the previous quarter.

The firm also held the leading position in the first quarter, with a 28.9% share of the market, translating to 23,586 new members.

As of the end of Q2 2023, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers had amassed approximately 2,034,226 RSA members, constituting a significant 20% of the 10 million total RSA members in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, new industry competitors Access Pensions and GT Pensions continued their aggressive growth trajectory by adding 7,215 and 1,078 new RSA members in the second quarter of the year.

This compares to 7,747 and 879 RSA members that Access Pensions and GT Pensions, respectively, added in the first quarter.

Access Pensions, which recently acquired Sigma Pensions, has added close to 15,000 new RSA members over the past six months.

The company now has 1,072,121 members, solidifying its position as the second-largest pension fund. ARM Pensions, which held the number two spot as of December 2022, now has 902,222 members.

Trust Fund Pensions and Premium Pensions round out the top five with 805,295 and 783,196 RSA members, respectively.

Collectively, the top five pension funds account for 5,596,100 RSA members or 55% of the market. FCMB ranks sixth with 740,798 members.

In terms of Micro-pensions, ARM Pensions led the pack with approximately 23,433 members, followed by Stanbic IBTC Pensions with 20,493 members.

Regarding pension contributions received under the micro-pension plan in Q2 2023, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited was the top collector, bringing in N23,649,238.59.

They were followed by ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited with N10,119,379.83 and Fidelity Pension Managers Limited with N6,260,200.00.

For the year-to-date figures, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited, and Fidelity Pension Managers Limited were responsible for the largest share of total contributions.

These firms collected N208,058,754.26, N68,097,754.47, and N47,010,387.14, respectively, representing 44.36%, 14.52%, and 10.02% of the total pension contributions received as of June 30, 2023.

Financial Update

In Q1, a total of ₦225.49 billion was contributed to individual RSAs, with the public sector accounting for 55.3% and the private sector for 44.7%.

However, Q2 saw a slight increase in the total pension contributions to ₦263.91 billion, with similar sector-wise contributions.

The quarter also witnessed significant RSA transfer activities. A total of 34,283 RSAs were transferred in January 2023 alone, with associated pension assets valued at ₦131.79 billion.

This reveals an actively shifting landscape within Nigeria’s pension scheme, which is believed to be due to more contributors seeking better fund management and returns.

The total pension fund assets grew from ₦15.58 trillion in Q1 to ₦16.76 trillion in Q2 2023, marking a growth rate of 7.57%.

Federal Government Securities continued to dominate the investment landscape, accounting for 64.78% of the total assets in Q2, slightly higher than the 63.14% in Q1.