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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has announced the immediate implementation of a minimum pension guarantee of N52,500 monthly for eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), ending a 22-year delay in enforcing a statutory provision designed to protect pensioners from receiving retirement benefits below a guaranteed threshold.
The President also launched PenCare, a healthcare initiative providing low-income retirees with free access to essential medical services, declaring that Nigerians who devoted their productive years to work should not be condemned to poverty or denied healthcare in retirement.
Tinubu, who unveiled the initiatives at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives launch in Abuja, yesterday, said his administration was giving practical effect to a guarantee first provided for under the Pension Reform Act 2004 but left unimplemented by successive administrations.
Represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President said the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme would take effect immediately under the supervision of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), describing the development as a major step towards restoring dignity and financial security to retirees.
“Today, I dare say that lie ends here. By the authority vested in me as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I hereby declare the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme commenced with effect from today, to be administered by the National Pension Commission under the Pension Reform Act,” he declared.
Tinubu said the guarantee would establish a minimum income protection for eligible retirees who contributed to the pension scheme, stressing that pension security was a legal entitlement rather than an act of government benevolence.
“From this day, a floor within the Nigerian retirement system: no one who contributed under the Contributory Pension Scheme will ever be allowed to fall below. Not because this government is generous, but because it is their right,” he said.
He recalled that Section 71 of the Pension Reform Act 2004 provided for a guaranteed minimum pension, while the 2014 legislation reaffirmed the provision and established a funding arrangement for its implementation.
The President expressed regret that the guarantee had remained unimplemented for more than two decades, leaving vulnerable retirees without adequate income protection.
“Not one naira paid under that guarantee. Not one retiree given a floor. Not one government that stopped to ask what happens to those pensioners when their hospital bills arrive at home,” he said.
Giving details of the intervention, PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that more than 170,000 retirees earning below N52,500 monthly were targeted for upward adjustment to the guaranteed minimum.
She explained that the scheme covered eligible retirees in both public and private establishments under the CPS, rather than federal government pensioners alone.
“We are targeting over 170,000. Every eligible retiree below N52,500 will be brought up to N52,500. So, everybody, there’s no discrimination. If you are within the CPS, you will get it,” she said.
Oloworaran disclosed that 54 per cent of retirees whose pensions fell below the threshold were from the private sector, adding that more than 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently received less than N52,500 monthly.
She, however, explained that state governments would be required to contribute to the Pension Protection Fund before their retirees could benefit from the guarantee, stressing that the arrangement must have a sustainable funding structure.
On the PenCare initiative, Tinubu said the programme was designed to prevent low-income pensioners from exhausting their retirement savings on medical treatment.
“A pension is more than a pay cheque. Ask any Nigerian what finished their father’s pension. It was not food. It was not rent. It was the hospital bill. One illness at 68 years can swallow 40 years of service and leave the children to carry the burden thereafter,” he said.
“A pension that cannot pay for medicine is not a pension. It is a receipt.”
The President explained that PenCare would provide access to essential healthcare through a dedicated arrangement funded under pension industry regulations.
Oloworaran disclosed that the programme had already commenced following a pilot phase, with about 25,000 beneficiaries captured at the last update and enrolment approaching 30,000.
She said the first batch of retirees had received healthcare access cards, while others could approach their Pension Fund Administrators to obtain theirs.
“It has been rolled out and Nigerians can now enter into a hospital and enjoy healthcare. What we did today was symbolic, but from today, anybody who doesn’t have their card can go to their Pension Fund Administrator and demand for their card,” she said.
Tinubu also defended his administration’s economic reforms, particularly petrol subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, insisting that the measures had created fiscal opportunities for infrastructure development, education, credit facilities and the settlement of outstanding pension obligations.
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He disclosed that his administration had raised a N458 billion bond to clear pension arrears, maintaining that the intervention had moved beyond commitments to actual payments.
“We issued a bond of N458 billion and we paid them. I said we did not promise, we paid them,” he declared.
The President also cited the N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment approved for eligible federal pensioners and increases in benefits for retired Nigeria Airways workers, some of whom, he said, had seen their monthly pensions rise from N80,000 to N206,000.
He maintained that increased revenue allocations following the economic reforms had also strengthened the capacity of state governments to meet pension obligations.
Citing a World Bank report, Tinubu said state revenues increased by approximately 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the share of state budgets devoted to capital expenditure rose from 46 to 61 per cent.
He said state governments had collectively committed substantial resources to clearing inherited pension liabilities, urging governors to prioritise the welfare of retired workers.
Oloworaran subsequently clarified that the total amount pledged by states towards outstanding legacy pension obligations since Tinubu assumed office was N1.07 trillion, explaining that the liabilities were being funded by the respective state governments.
The President also challenged opposition politicians who previously occupied public office to explain why the minimum pension guarantee had remained unimplemented during their administrations.
“Do not listen to what they promise you. Promises are free. Look at what they did when they were in power in the past,” he said.
“Which retiree did you guarantee? Which pensioner did you insure? And which floor did you erect at the start?”
He warned against reversing his administration’s economic policies, arguing that the reforms had strengthened government finances and created opportunities to address longstanding obligations to retirees.
Tinubu also issued a warning to employers withholding workers’ pension contributions, describing the practice as an unacceptable violation of employees’ retirement rights.
“Let them be known and be clear. Remit your workers’ contributions. Every naira you hold is stolen from somebody’s old age. It is not your money,” he declared.
Oloworaran said PenCom was strengthening collaboration with enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to compel employers to remit pension contributions.
She added that the commission would investigate reports of retirees receiving as little as N5,000 monthly, describing such payments as unacceptable.
Responding to suggestions that the pension initiatives were politically motivated because of their proximity to the 2027 general elections, the PenCom chief dismissed the allegation, insisting that the commission had pursued successive reforms since she assumed office in July 2024.
“Is there ever a time that is bad for doing good for ordinary Nigerians, for putting a smile on people’s faces?” she asked.
“We don’t get involved in politics here. We just do our work. But guess what? If my work makes the President look good, it means I’m doing what he has hired me to do.”
Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, Tony Elumelu, commended the initiatives, stressing that economic growth must translate into improved living conditions for Nigerians, including those who had completed their years of active service.
“Growth must translate into improved lives, and our institutions must work for all Nigerians, including those who have completed their years of active service,” he said.
Elumelu assured the Federal Government of private-sector support for policies promoting financial inclusion and retirement security.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jalo, and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Cyril Fasuyi, also welcomed the initiatives, pledging legislative oversight to ensure effective implementation and sustainability.
Fasuyi said the minimum pension guarantee would give practical effect to Section 84 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, while PenCare would address the healthcare needs of low-income retirees.
The lawmakers urged state governments to strengthen their pension arrangements and ensure regular payment of retirement benefits.
