President Bola Tinubu has activated a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), alongside a new healthcare initiative for low-income pensioners.
The two measures were announced on Tuesday, November 10, during the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. Tinubu was represented at the event by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme is intended to ensure that eligible CPS retirees whose monthly pensions fall below N52,500 receive an increase to the new threshold. Its activation fulfils a provision of the Pension Reform Act that had remained largely unimplemented for 22 years.
PenCom Sets N52,500 Monthly Pension Floor
Declaring the scheme operational, Tinubu said the guarantee would provide a minimum income level for contributors under the contributory pension system.
“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 maintain the policy and improve its value when necessary.
“Raise it. But never remove the floor,” he said.
Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, announced that the minimum pension had been fixed at N52,500 monthly. She said 173,209 retirees were eligible, comprising 34 per cent from federal service, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.
Oloworaran said the amount had undergone actuarial assessment and would be reviewed periodically. More than N400 billion, she added, was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the guarantee.
She also disclosed that more than 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently receive pensions below the new threshold.
However, PenCom later clarified that state governments must contribute to the Pension Protection Fund before their retirees can qualify for the guarantee.
PenCare to Provide Free Healthcare for Low-Income Retirees
Tinubu also inaugurated the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, to provide low-income pensioners with access to essential medical services without charge.
He said the programme was designed to prevent medical expenses from consuming the limited pension income of vulnerable retirees. Beneficiaries are expected to access healthcare through designated facilities using PenCare cards.
Oloworaran said the pension industry had committed more than N7 billion to the healthcare initiative, with insurance premiums already paid to cover nearly 30,000 retirees.
N758bn Pension Bond and State Liabilities
The President also cited the N758 billion Federal Government pension bond approved to address outstanding pension obligations, alongside a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.
He said state governments had spent more than N1 trillion settling pension obligations, attributing their improved capacity partly to the removal of petrol subsidy.
Oloworaran disclosed that states had inherited more than N2 trillion in legacy pension liabilities, of which N1.07 trillion had been settled.
Tinubu Cites Higher State Revenues
Defending the economic reforms of his administration, Tinubu cited a World Bank report indicating that state revenues increased by about 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025.
He also said the proportion of state budgets allocated to capital projects rose from 46 per cent to 61 per cent over the same period.
The President further disclosed that government-backed credit initiatives had unlocked more than N64 billion for 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately N53 billion in consumer credit.
PenCom Targets Informal Sector
Oloworaran said PenCom would expand pension coverage beyond formal employment to include traders, artisans, farmers and other workers in the informal economy.
The commission plans to use accredited pension agents to reach more people and encourage participation in the contributory system.
Pension Industry Plans Infrastructure Investment
Oloworaran also highlighted plans by the pension industry to mobilise long-term savings for infrastructure development through an investment platform being developed with support from FSD Africa.
FSD Africa said the proposed fund has a long-term target of US$750 million. Its initial capital mobilisation target is US$350 million, with the first close expected in 2027.
The initiative has attracted interest from 19 Nigerian pension funds and is expected to support investments in energy, transport and digital infrastructure.
National Assembly and Private Sector Back Initiatives
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jallo, described the minimum pension guarantee and PenCare as important steps towards addressing income insecurity and healthcare challenges among retirees.
He pledged the National Assembly’s support for stronger pension governance and wider coverage.
Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, also commended the initiatives, describing them as investments in dignity.
“These are not simply pension reforms. They are investments in human dignity,” Elumelu said.
