Nigeria Pension (RSA) Contribution Calculator
Monthly RSA contributions under the Pension Reform Act, and your balance at retirement.
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Pension Reform Act Nigeria · RSA contributions and an assumed return · Sources
Your contributions now
| Item | A month | A year |
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Where the balance comes from
| Item | Amount |
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If the return is different
| Return a year | Balance | In today’s money |
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Year by year
| Age at the end of the year | Paid in | Growth | Balance |
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Rules used and official sources
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Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the Nigeria Pension (RSA) Contribution Calculator
Work out what goes into your Retirement Savings Account (RSA) each month and what it could grow to by the time you retire. Under the Pension Reform Act you pay at least 8% and your employer at least 10% of your monthly emoluments — basic salary, housing and transport allowances at least — into the RSA you keep with your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).
Enter your pay, any voluntary contributions and your balance now, choose a return and a yearly pay rise, and the calculator projects the balance month by month to the age you retire: in future naira and in today's money, with a range 2 points either side of your return, what you and your employer paid in and what the investments added. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to use it
- Enter your basic salary, housing allowance and transport allowance for a month: together they are your pension pay.
- Check the rates (at least 8% from you and 10% from your employer) and add any voluntary contribution and your RSA balance now.
- Enter your age and the age you plan to retire, then the return after fees, the yearly pay rise and the inflation you want to assume.
- Read your balance at retirement, the month’s contributions, where the balance comes from, the range of returns and the year-by-year table.
- With a Pro pass, or after unlocking this result, copy the summary or download the projection as a CSV file; without one the page shows a free preview.
Examples
₦76,500 a month into the RSA · about ₦251,876,849 at 60 (₦25,030,849 in today’s money at 8% inflation).
₦60,990,862 paid in; ₦190,885,987 from returns.
₦205,000 a month into the RSA · about ₦184,370,274 at 60.
At 8% or 12% a year instead: ₦151,027,298 or ₦226,434,798.
Exactly what was paid in: ₦9,180,000 (₦76,500 × 120 months).
How much goes into your RSA
The Pension Reform Act sets the minimum contributions at 10% of your monthly emoluments from your employer and 8% from you (section 4(1)). Monthly emoluments are your total emoluments as your contract defines them, but never less than basic salary, housing allowance and transport allowance together (section 120). Your employer deducts your share from your pay and remits both, within 7 working days of paying you, to the custodian your PFA names (section 11(3)).
You may add voluntary contributions on top (section 4(3)); an employer and employee can agree higher rates (section 4(2)); and an employer that takes on the whole scheme pays at least 20% (section 4(4)). Pension Reform Act, 2014.
How the projection works
Each month the balance grows by the monthly equivalent of your yearly return, (1 + r)^(1/12) − 1, so twelve months give exactly r, and then the month’s contributions are added. Your pay — and with it every contribution, the voluntary one too — rises once a year by the pay rise you enter.
The balance in today’s money divides the balance at retirement by (1 + inflation)^years, so you can compare it with prices now. The range repeats the whole projection with the return 2 percentage points lower and higher.
When you can use your RSA
From retirement or age 50, whichever is later, you can take a lump sum, as long as what is left buys programmed monthly or quarterly withdrawals or a life annuity under PenCom’s guidelines (section 7(1)). If you leave a job and do not find another, you can ask, after 4 months, to withdraw up to 25% of your balance with the Commission’s approval (section 7(2)).
Tax on pension contributions
Your contributions under the Pension Reform Act are eligible deductions, so your PAYE is worked out on your pay after them (Nigeria Tax Act, section 30(2)(a)(iii); Pension Reform Act, section 10(1)). Income earned by pension funds and retirement benefits paid under the Act are not taxed (Pension Reform Act, section 10(2) and (3); Nigeria Tax Act, section 162(1)(h) and (i)). Income on a voluntary contribution is taxed if you withdraw it within 5 years of paying it in (section 10(4)).
Choosing a return
Enter the return you expect after your PFA’s fees. Funds that hold more shares may return more over long periods but move more from year to year; funds that hold more government securities move less. Past returns do not guarantee future ones, so compare the range on the result with your plans.
Limitations
- Returns are assumed and the same every year; real returns vary and can be negative in some years.
- Contributions arrive at the end of every month without breaks; gaps between jobs, late remittances and fees beyond the return you enter are not modelled.
- It does not work out the lump sum or the monthly pension at retirement: PenCom’s guidelines and your PFA decide what remains for programmed withdrawals or an annuity.
- In the private sector the scheme applies to organisations with 15 or more employees (section 2(2)); staff of organisations with fewer than three employees and self-employed people can join under PenCom’s guidelines (section 2(3)).
- An illustration from the Act’s contribution rules and your assumptions, not financial advice.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Nigeria Pension (RSA) Contribution Calculator shows the labels of each table’s first rows (up to 3), with your RSA balance at retirement, the other totals, the chart and every other figure hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How much is deducted from my salary for pension?
At least 8% of your basic salary, housing and transport allowances, and your employer adds at least 10% on top (Pension Reform Act, section 4(1)). On ₦425,000 of pension pay that is ₦34,000 from you and ₦42,500 from your employer: ₦76,500 a month into your RSA.
Can I withdraw from my RSA before I retire?
If you leave a job and have not found another after 4 months, you can withdraw up to 25% of your balance with the Commission’s approval (section 7(2)). Otherwise the RSA is paid from retirement or age 50, whichever is later (section 7(1)).
Do voluntary contributions lower my tax?
Yes: they are contributions under the Pension Reform Act, which the Nigeria Tax Act lets you deduct before PAYE (section 30(2)(a)(iii)). Income on them is taxed if you withdraw them within 5 years of paying them in (Pension Reform Act, section 10(4)).
What return should I use?
A yearly return after fees that fits the fund your RSA is in. The result shows the balance 2 points either side of it, because over decades a small change in the return changes the balance a lot. The projection is an illustration, not a promise.
Is my information sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.