President Bola Tinubu has introduced a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, ending a 22-year delay in implementing a provision of the Pension Reform Act.
The President also launched the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, which is designed to provide free essential healthcare services to low-income pensioners.
Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, announced the initiatives during the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Declaring the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme operational, Tinubu said the initiative would ensure that eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme did not receive pensions below the approved threshold.
He explained that the guarantee was first introduced in the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 legislation but had remained unimplemented under successive administrations.
"From this day, there is a floor beneath the Nigerian retiree. No one who contributed under the Contributory Pension Scheme will ever be allowed to fall below,” he said.
The President urged future administrations to sustain the policy, stressing that the minimum pension should be increased when necessary but never abolished.
On healthcare, Tinubu said PenCare would shield vulnerable retirees from medical expenses that could deplete their pension savings.
He added that beneficiaries would begin receiving healthcare access cards in the coming months.
The President further disclosed that his administration had issued a N758bn bond to address outstanding pension arrears and approved a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.
He also said state governments had spent more than N1tn settling pension obligations, attributing their improved financial capacity partly to the removal of fuel subsidy.
Citing a World Bank report, Tinubu stated that states' revenues increased by about 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the proportion of their budgets allocated to capital projects rose from 46 to 61 per cent.
He added that government-backed credit initiatives had unlocked more than N64bn for 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately N53bn in consumer credit.
Earlier, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that the minimum guaranteed pension had been fixed at N52,500 monthly.
According to her, 173,209 retirees would benefit from the scheme, comprising 34 per cent from federal service, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.
She explained that the amount had undergone actuarial validation and would be reviewed periodically.
Oloworaran further disclosed that more than N400bn was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the initiative, noting that over 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently earned below the newly approved threshold.
She also revealed that state governments inherited more than N2tn in pension liabilities, out of which N1.07tn had been settled.
On PenCare, the PenCom boss said the pension industry had committed more than N7bn to the healthcare initiative, with insurance premiums already paid to cover nearly 30,000 retirees.
She also announced plans to expand pension coverage to informal-sector workers, including traders, artisans and farmers.
Oloworaran disclosed that the pension industry had committed $750m to an infrastructure investment platform, with an additional $50m expected from development partners. Initial deployment is expected in the first half of 2027.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jallo, described the initiatives as significant steps towards addressing healthcare challenges and income insecurity among retirees.
He assured that the National Assembly would continue to support efforts to strengthen pension governance, improve compliance and expand coverage, particularly among informal-sector workers.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, commended the initiatives, describing them as investments in the welfare and dignity of Nigerians who had completed their working lives.
“These are not simply pension reforms. They are investments in human dignity,” he said.
Elumelu pledged private-sector support for partnerships aimed at strengthening retirement security and promoting financial inclusion.
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