Project your RSA balance to retirement.
Projected RSA balance
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Real value (today's naira)
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Total contributed
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The number that looks huge and the number that matters
Run this tool with a long horizon and the projected balance is genuinely startling. A 25-year projection can land near NGN 292 million, and the first reaction is usually that retirement is sorted. Hold that thought, because the second figure on the screen, the real value in today's naira, tells a colder story. After 25 years of inflation at the rate this tool assumes, that pot is worth about NGN 1.65 million in money you could actually spend today. The gap between those two numbers is the single most useful thing this calculator shows you, and it is why a Retirement Savings Account that grows on paper can still leave you short.
Your RSA is the account every formal-sector employee holds with a Pension Fund Administrator under the Contributory Pension Scheme. Each month the combined statutory contribution, 8 percent from you and 10 percent from your employer, is paid in and invested. This tool projects where that grows to, given a return you choose and the salary growth you expect. It is built for an employee who wants a realistic sense of their pot at retirement, not a guarantee.
How the projection is built, month by month
The engine compounds monthly. Each month it grows the existing balance by one twelfth of your annual return, then adds the contribution, which is 18 percent of your current monthly emolument. Emolument here means your basic, housing, and transport allowances combined, not your full gross. Once every twelve months your emolument is stepped up by the salary growth rate you entered, so the contribution rises as your pay does. The 18 percent split is statutory under the Pension Reform Act 2014 and is administered by your PFA under the oversight of the National Pension Commission, PenCom.
One caution worth stating plainly. The 18 percent is fixed by law, but the 12 percent return and the 23 percent inflation rate the tool uses are assumptions, not promises. PFA returns vary year to year and across fund types, and the headline inflation figure is an indicative reading. Treat the inflation number as the National Bureau of Statistics measure it tracks, and confirm your fund's actual recent performance with your PFA before you lean on any single projection.
A 25-year run, starting from NGN 2 million
Take an employee with NGN 2 million already in their RSA and a monthly emolument of NGN 400,000. The monthly contribution starts at NGN 72,000, which is 18 percent of NGN 400,000. With a 12 percent annual return compounded monthly, salary growth of 8 percent a year, and 25 years to run, the nominal balance projects to about NGN 292 million. Of that, roughly NGN 63 million is your and your employer's contributions, and the rest is investment growth. The real value, discounted at 23 percent inflation over 25 years, is about NGN 1.65 million in today's terms. These figures use the assumptions this calculator applies.
Why the back years do most of the work
Look at the chart and notice how flat the early bars are next to the last one. By year five the balance is around NGN 10 million, by year ten about NGN 29 million, but the jump from year 20 to year 25 alone is larger than the entire first fifteen years combined. That is compounding working on a base that has finally grown large. The practical lesson is that the worst thing you can do is interrupt contributions early or cash out on a job change, because you are removing the seed that the late-stage growth depends on. When you switch employers, your RSA stays with the same PFA and the new employer simply continues paying into it.
A common mistake is to read the nominal figure as your standard of living at retirement. It is not. Use the real value as your planning number, and if it looks thin, the levers are within reach: contribute additional voluntary contributions on top of the statutory 18 percent, push for a fund type that suits your age, or extend your working horizon. Even one or two extra years near the end moves the nominal pot a great deal because of where you are on the curve.
Is the 12 percent return realistic for an RSA?
It is a planning assumption, not a forecast. Nigerian pension funds invest heavily in government securities and other regulated assets, and returns have moved with interest rates and inflation. In high-rate periods double-digit nominal returns have been achievable, but there is no guarantee, and a high nominal return in a high-inflation year can still mean a modest real return. Try the projection at a lower return to see how sensitive the pot is, and check your PFA's published performance for a grounded figure.
Can I add more than the statutory 18 percent?
Yes. Additional voluntary contributions, AVCs, let you pay extra into your RSA above the mandatory amount, and they are a direct way to lift the projected balance. This tool models the statutory 18 percent on your emolument, so if you make AVCs your actual pot would grow faster than shown here. Rules on accessing AVCs and their tax treatment are set by PenCom and have changed over time, so confirm the current position with your PFA before committing a large sum.