TINUBU INTRODUCES N52,500 MINIMUM MONTHLY PENSION FOR 173,209 RETIREES

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By: Hammad Fasasi

President Bola Tinubu has introduced a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, bringing an end to a 22-year delay in implementing the provision of the Pension Reform Act.

The President also launched the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, to provide free essential medical services to low-income pensioners.

Tinubu, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, announced the initiatives on Tuesday during the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.

While declaring the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme operational, the President said the initiative would ensure that retirees who contributed under the Contributory Pension Scheme did not receive pensions below the approved threshold.

He said, “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.”

Tinubu explained that the provision was first introduced in the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 amendment but had remained unimplemented under successive administrations.

“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.

He urged future administrations to sustain the policy, adding, “Raise it. But never remove the floor.”

On the healthcare initiative, Tinubu said PenCare was designed to shield vulnerable retirees from medical expenses that could deplete their pension savings.

“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 also disclosed that his administration had issued a N758bn bond to address outstanding pension arrears and approved a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.

He further revealed that state governments had spent more than N1tn settling pension obligations, attributing their improved financial capacity partly to the removal of fuel subsidy.

Citing a World Bank report, Tinubu said state revenues increased by approximately 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the proportion of state budgets allocated to capital projects rose from 46 to 61 per cent.

He also disclosed that government-backed credit programmes had provided more than N64bn to 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately N53bn in consumer credit.

In her opening remarks, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, announced that the guaranteed minimum pension had been fixed at N52,500 monthly.

“The minimum pension in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is 52,500 naira every month,” she said.

According to Oloworaran, 173,209 retirees qualify for the scheme, comprising 34 per cent from the federal public service, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.

She explained that the amount had undergone actuarial validation and would be reviewed periodically.

“The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” she noted.

The PenCom director-general disclosed that more than N400bn was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the scheme, while over 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently received pensions below the newly established threshold.

She also revealed that state governments inherited more than N2tn in pension liabilities, of which N1.07tn had been settled.

On healthcare, Oloworaran said the pension industry had committed more than N7bn to PenCare after paying insurance premiums covering nearly 30,000 retirees.

She further announced plans to expand pension coverage to informal-sector workers, including traders, artisans and farmers.

Oloworaran also disclosed that the pension industry had committed $750m to an infrastructure investment platform, with an additional $50m expected from development partners. Initial deployment is targeted for the first half of 2027.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jallo, described the initiatives as significant steps towards addressing retirees’ healthcare challenges and income insecurity.

He pledged the National Assembly’s support for improved pension governance, regulatory compliance and wider coverage, particularly among informal-sector workers.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, praised the initiatives, describing them as investments in the welfare and dignity of Nigerians who had completed their working lives.

“These are not simply pension reforms. They are investments in human dignity,” he said.

Elumelu also pledged private-sector support for partnerships aimed at strengthening retirement security and promoting financial inclusion.