By Jimmy Fatunbi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched a ₦52,500 monthly Minimum Pension Guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), bringing to an end a 22-year delay in implementing a key provision of the Pension Reform Act.
The President also unveiled the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, popularly known as PenCare, an initiative designed to provide free access to essential healthcare services for low-income pensioners and protect vulnerable retirees from the financial burden of medical expenses.
The two initiatives were inaugurated on Tuesday at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja. Tinubu was represented at the event by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
Declaring the Minimum Pension Guarantee operational, the President described the initiative as a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to strengthen pension security and improve the welfare of retired workers.
“By the authority vested in me as President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I hereby declare the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme commenced,” he announced.
Tinubu explained that the guarantee was originally provided for in the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 legislation but had remained unimplemented under successive administrations.
He stressed that the new arrangement would establish a minimum income threshold for eligible retirees, ensuring that those who contributed to the Contributory Pension Scheme would not be left with inadequate pension payments.
“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 declared.
The President also urged successive administrations to sustain and strengthen the initiative rather than discontinue it, emphasising the importance of institutionalising pension protection as a lasting social security commitment.
“Raise it. But never remove the floor,” he charged.
On healthcare, Tinubu said PenCare was conceived to address the healthcare challenges confronting low-income retirees, particularly those whose limited pension income could easily be depleted by medical bills.
“PenCare gives our low-income retirees access to essential health care without charge,” he said, adding that beneficiaries would begin receiving healthcare access cards in the coming months.
The President further highlighted his administration’s efforts to address outstanding pension obligations and improve the financial security of retired federal workers. He disclosed that the Federal Government had issued a ₦758 billion bond to settle longstanding pension arrears and approved a ₦32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.
He also revealed that state governments had collectively spent more than ₦1 trillion on settling pension obligations, attributing their improved capacity to meet such commitments partly to the removal of the petroleum subsidy.
Citing a World Bank report, Tinubu noted that state revenues increased by approximately 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the proportion of state budgets allocated to capital expenditure rose from 46 per cent to 61 per cent.
He further disclosed that government-backed credit initiatives had unlocked more than ₦64 billion for 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately ₦53 billion in consumer credit.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, confirmed that the Minimum Pension Guarantee had been fixed at ₦52,500 monthly.
“The minimum pensions in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is 52,500 naira every month,” she announced.
According to Oloworaran, 173,209 retirees qualify for the guarantee. Of this number, 34 per cent are retirees from the federal public service, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.
She explained that the minimum pension threshold was determined through actuarial assessment rather than arbitrary estimation and would be reviewed periodically to ensure its continued relevance.
“The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” she said.
The PenCom Director-General also disclosed that more than ₦400 billion was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the guarantee. She noted that over 65 per cent of retirees in the private sector currently received pensions below the newly established threshold.
Providing further insight into the country’s pension obligations, Oloworaran revealed that state governments had inherited pension liabilities exceeding ₦2 trillion, out of which ₦1.07 trillion had already been settled.
The launch of the Minimum Pension Guarantee and PenCare represents a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s contributory pension framework, improving retirees’ access to healthcare and reinforcing the principle that workers who have contributed to the nation’s development deserve financial security and dignity in retirement.
