President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that no eligible Nigerian retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme should receive less than N52,500 monthly, unveiling a new pension protection framework backed by a N400 billion fund and a free healthcare initiative for low-income pensioners.
The President, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the launch of the Presidential Pension Security Initiative in Abuja on Tuesday, said the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG) was designed to correct longstanding gaps in the country’s pension administration and guarantee a more secure retirement for Nigerian workers.
He described the new pension threshold as an enforceable entitlement rather than a government favour, insisting that successive administrations must preserve the policy and build on it.
PBAT specifically charged future governments against reversing the initiative, saying the minimum threshold could only be reviewed upwards.
“To every administration that comes after me, hear me clearly. This floor is now part of a compact between the Nigerian state and the Nigerian worker. Raise it, but never remove the floor,” he declared.
The President noted that the Minimum Pension Guarantee had remained unimplemented for 22 years despite provisions in the country’s pension reform legislation, describing its introduction as an important step towards strengthening the social protection system for retired workers.
He recalled that Sections 71 of the Pension Reform Act 2004 and Sections 82 and 84 of the 2014 Act provided the legal framework for the minimum pension guarantee and the establishment of a dedicated fund to support its implementation.
Under the new arrangement, eligible retirees whose monthly pension falls below N52,500 will receive protection through the scheme, ensuring that their retirement income does not fall below the approved minimum.
In another major component of the initiative, Tinubu unveiled PenCare, a healthcare programme designed to provide low-income retirees with free access to essential medical services.
The healthcare intervention, which is funded by the pension industry, is expected to ease the financial burden of medical expenses on vulnerable pensioners and improve their access to basic healthcare services.
Providing details of the programme, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that the Federal Government had established a N400 billion Pension Protection Fund to finance the Minimum Pension Guarantee.
She explained that the fund would provide the financial backing required to protect eligible retirees whose existing pension payments fall below the newly approved threshold.
Oloworaran revealed that before the introduction of the initiative, some pensioners received monthly payments of slightly above N20,000, highlighting the need for a structured intervention to improve retirement income.
She said the N52,500 benchmark was arrived at following an actuarial assessment and would undergo periodic reviews 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. And it is funded,” the PenCom chief stated.
She further explained that despite being provided for in pension reform laws for more than two decades, the Minimum Pension Guarantee could not be implemented because successive administrations had failed to establish a dedicated funding mechanism.
According to her, the new framework addresses that challenge by providing a defined financial structure for the programme’s implementation and long-term sustainability.
The PenCom Director-General disclosed that 173,209 retirees across the country are expected to benefit from the intervention.
Giving a breakdown of the beneficiaries, she said 34 per cent were retirees of the Federal Government, 12 per cent retired from state governments, while the private sector accounts for the remaining 54 per cent.
The Presidential Pension Security Initiative is expected to strengthen confidence in the Contributory Pension Scheme, improve the financial protection available to retirees and expand access to essential healthcare for low-income pensioners.