President Bola Tinubu has introduced a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for Nigerian retirees alongside a new healthcare initiative designed to provide free medical services to pensioners with low incomes.
The two initiatives, known as the Minimum Pension Guarantee and PenCare Scheme, were launched on Tuesday at the State House Banquet Hall as part of the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives. The programmes are intended to strengthen retirement security, guarantee a minimum income for eligible pensioners and improve access to healthcare after retirement.
Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said the minimum pension guarantee was one of the key promises under Nigeria’s pension reform framework that had remained unfulfilled for more than two decades. He explained that Section 71 of the Pension Reform Act provided for a guaranteed minimum pension for contributors, while Sections 82 and 84 established provisions for financing the scheme.
However, the provisions had not been implemented for 22 years, leaving many retirees without the protection originally envisaged under the law. The President described the delay as a failure to fulfil the promises of the pension reform and declared that the scheme would take effect immediately.
“Today, I dare say that lie ends here today. 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 commences with effect from today,” he said.
He added that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) would administer the programme in line with the Pension Reform Act. Tinubu also unveiled PenCare, a healthcare programme funded by the pension industry to provide essential medical services to low-income retirees at no cost. The first batch of PenCare health access cards is expected to be distributed to pensioners and other beneficiaries immediately.
“For the first time in our dear history, the Nigerian retiree holds two things at once: an income that cannot fall below the floor, and a card that opens the door of a hospital. That is social security,” he added.
Speaking at the launch, PenCom Director General, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that the minimum monthly pension would be N52,500, with provisions for upward reviews. She also confirmed that funding for the programme had been secured.
“More than N400 billion stands in the Pension Protection Fund—173,209 Nigerians will be eligible,” she said, adding that beneficiaries would begin receiving payment alerts following the launch.
She explained that 34% of eligible retirees came from the federal public service, 12% from state governments and 54% from the private sector. Oloworaran also disclosed that the pension industry had committed more than N7 billion to fund healthcare services under PenCare, describing the initiative as a sustainable programme for vulnerable pensioners. She further revealed that state governments inherited more than N2 trillion in pension liabilities when the current administration began its reforms, but N1.07 trillion had been cleared as of the announcement.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, who spoke on behalf of pension industry stakeholders, commended the government for introducing the initiatives. He said the programmes addressed two major concerns facing retirees: reliable income and access to healthcare, adding that Nigerians who contributed to national development deserved to retire with dignity and financial security.
The President has also urged pension industry stakeholders to develop incentives that would encourage millions of informal sector workers to participate in the pension system, expanding retirement protection beyond the formal workforce.
