By Majeed Salaam
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced a significant regulatory adjustment within Nigeria’s pension industry by removing the requirement for Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to obtain prior written approval before releasing advertisements and marketing campaign materials, a move that reflects broader efforts to streamline regulatory processes and improve operational efficiency across the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The policy change was communicated in a circular dated May 8, 2026, and signed by the Director of the Surveillance Department, A.M. Saleem. According to the commission, the directive takes immediate effect and replaces Section 6.3.1 of the Guidelines for the Operations of PFAs.
Before the revision, PFAs were required to secure formal approval from the Commission before advertising products, promoting services, or disseminating operational information to the public. The requirement formed part of PenCom’s oversight framework aimed at ensuring compliance, protecting contributors, and regulating information released within the pension industry.
Under the new framework, PFAs are no longer required to wait for advance clearance before deploying advertising materials across television, radio, print, digital, and outdoor media platforms. However, the commission maintained that operators must still notify PenCom before campaigns are released to the public.
Explaining the rationale behind the policy shift, the commission stated in the circular:
“In furtherance of the commission’s commitment of promoting operational efficiency, reduce bureaucratic delays, and quicker dissemination of information by PFAs to their potential clients, the commission deems it necessary to allow PFAs to henceforth release their advertisement and media campaign materials without the prior approval of the commission.”
The adjustment reflects a broader regulatory pattern within Nigeria’s pension industry, where the commission has increasingly focused on reducing administrative bottlenecks while retaining supervisory control through post-submission monitoring and compliance enforcement mechanisms.
Although prior approval has been removed, PenCom outlined a detailed compliance framework that Pension Fund Administrators must continue to observe before advertisements are released.
According to the circular, PFAs are required to disclose the duration and timelines of campaigns and must submit copies of all creative materials before publication. The commission also directed operators to clearly define the intended target audience for each campaign while providing evidence that the materials had undergone internal clearance by their Legal and Compliance departments.
In addition, PenCom stated that pension products or services being advertised must already have the Commission’s regulatory approval before they can be promoted publicly.
The circular further emphasised that the removal of prior approval requirements does not diminish existing compliance obligations or weaken regulatory oversight within the pension sector.
PenCom maintained that all advertising materials must remain factual, verifiable, and fully compliant with both the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and the Pension Reform Act 2014. The commission also imposed restrictions on certain marketing practices commonly associated with aggressive retail advertising campaigns.
Under the directive, PFAs are prohibited from using lotteries, prize draws, inducement schemes, misleading claims, unaudited financial references, or deceptive fee disclosures in promotional campaigns.
The commission also barred operators from using government symbols, institutional assets, or public figures in advertisements without obtaining proper authorisation.
In another layer of compliance requirements, PenCom directed PFAs to register slogans, taglines, and promotional phrases with the national Trademarks Registry before deployment in public campaigns.
The circular additionally clarified that PFAs would remain fully liable for all advertising content released under their name, including materials managed by third-party agencies, consultants, digital marketers, or social media influencers.
The regulatory adjustment comes within the context of broader reforms introduced by PenCom over the past two years to simplify administrative procedures within the pension system while improving service delivery to Retirement Savings Account holders.
In 2025, the commission removed the requirement for Pension Fund Administrators to seek prior approval before processing several categories of retirement benefits. That directive, which took effect on June 1, 2025, granted PFAs authority to approve and process programmed withdrawals, retiree life annuities, temporary unemployment benefits, and refunds for contributors exempted from the CPS without first obtaining clearance from the commission.
The earlier reform was introduced as part of efforts to reduce delays in pension administration and improve the efficiency of retirement benefit payments across the industry.
The latest advertising policy adjustment therefore extends the commission’s ongoing regulatory approach of decentralising selected administrative approvals while maintaining central oversight through compliance standards, disclosure obligations, and enforcement mechanisms.
Nigeria’s pension industry has continued to expand in size and operational complexity under the CPS, increasing the importance of communication, public awareness, brand competition, and retail engagement among PFAs seeking to attract and retain Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.
The removal of pre-approval requirements for advertising is expected to alter the pace at which PFAs communicate products, services, and market information to contributors, particularly within a pension sector that has become increasingly technology-driven and digitally competitive.
