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Private occupational pension schemes recorded a 29.01 percent increase in net assets in 2025, highlighting growing confidence in Zambia’s pension sector even as authorities push to expand retirement savings to workers in the informal economy.
The Pension and Insurance Authority (PIA) said net assets under management rose from K20.8 billion in 2024 to K26.9 billion in 2025, driven by fair value gains on local equities and Government bonds, as well as sustained pension contributions from scheme members.
Speaking at the launch of the annual Pensions Awareness Week in Lusaka on Tuesday at the Mulungushi International Conference centre, PIA Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, Namakau Ntini, said the sector’s performance reflected the resilience of occupational pension schemes and their growing role in mobilising long-term savings.
“This impressive trajectory reflects continued resilience and growing public confidence in Zambia’s private pension sector,” Ntini said.
She said pension scheme membership also grew by 5.79 percent during the period, rising from 165,545 members in 2024 to 175,123 in 2025.
Read more: Zambia’s insurance sector net assets hit K25.6 billion, says Pensions and Insurance Authority
The increase was largely attributed to more employers joining existing multi-employer pension schemes.
Despite the gains, Ntini said pension coverage remained low, noting that only 25.8 percent of Zambia’s employed population of 3.97 million people work in the formal sector, while 74.2 percent were employed in the informal economy.
She said the authority was committed to expanding pension coverage by introducing flexible and affordable retirement products tailored to informal sector workers.
Ntini said the proposed Pension Scheme Regulation Bill was expected to strengthen the sector by introducing reforms such as micro-pensions, enhanced consumer protection and digital enrolment, making retirement savings more accessible.
She urged citizens to begin planning for retirement early by understanding their pension rights, benefits and savings to secure financial independence in old age.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Labour and Social Security Permanent Secretary, Zechariah Luhanga, called on workers in both the formal and informal sectors to embrace long-term financial planning.
Luhanga said retirement should be viewed as a predictable stage of life that required deliberate preparation rather than a crisis that caught people unprepared.
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