The National Pension Commission has “approved the issuance and immediate implementation” guidelines for retirement’s savings accounts holders. This was said in an emailed statements. Pensioners will be able to use a portion of their balance to pay for residential housing loans.

The most recent news making headlines is that pensioners can now use their pension funds to fund mortgages.

“Pensioners must pay into the fund for at least five years to qualify, and can withdraw a maximum of 25% of the savings”

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, with more than 200 million people is trying to turn more of its citizens into homeowners.

A report that was published by the Central Bank of Nigeria found that the nation had a deficit of about 20 million housing units. This will require 21 trillion naira ($48.2 billion) to finance.

Citizens of the nation have initially faced challenges in accessing properties fiancés as most funds available are short term. Whereas mortgages require payments over a long period of time.