President Bola Tinubu has launched a ₦52,500 monthly Minimum Pension Guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), alongside a free healthcare initiative aimed at protecting low-income pensioners from rising medical expenses.
The two initiatives, unveiled on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja, are designed to strengthen retirement income security and improve access to healthcare for vulnerable retirees.
Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, declared the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme operational, bringing into effect a provision of the pension reform framework that had remained unimplemented for 22 years.
The guarantee was originally provided for under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 legislation. However, successive administrations had not implemented it because of the absence of dedicated funding.
Declaring the scheme operational, the President said the initiative would establish a minimum income threshold for eligible retirees 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.
He urged future administrations to sustain the initiative and improve the minimum guarantee when necessary, warning against reversing the policy.
“Raise it. But never remove the floor,” Tinubu stated.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, announced that the guaranteed minimum monthly pension had been fixed at ₦52,500.
She said 173,209 retirees had been identified as eligible beneficiaries, comprising 34 per cent from the Federal Government, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.
According to her, more than 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently receive pensions below the newly established threshold, highlighting the income challenges confronting many Nigerians after retirement.
Oloworaran explained that the ₦52,500 figure was determined through an actuarial assessment and would be reviewed periodically to reflect changing circumstances and ensure the sustainability of the scheme.
“The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” she said.
To finance the guarantee, the PenCom chief disclosed that more than ₦400 billion was available in the Pension Protection Fund.
She explained that the fund would provide financial support to eligible retirees whose monthly pension payments fall below the approved minimum.
However, she clarified that participation by state governments in the funding arrangement would be important to extending and sustaining the benefits for their retirees.
She said states would be required to contribute to the Pension Protection Fund before their retirees could qualify under the arrangement, adding that PenCom was working out the modalities for state-level participation.
Oloworaran stressed that the initiative was not restricted to federal pensioners, noting that eligible private-sector retirees were also covered under the scheme.
She also disclosed that the pension industry had been working to address the funding challenges that previously prevented the implementation of the minimum pension provision.
In addition to the income guarantee, Tinubu inaugurated the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, which is designed to provide free access to essential healthcare services for low-income pensioners.
The President said the programme would protect vulnerable retirees from medical expenses that could consume a significant portion of their pension savings.
“PenCare gives our low-income retirees access to essential healthcare without charge,” he said.
He added that healthcare access cards would be issued to beneficiaries in the coming months to enable them to obtain covered medical services.
However, PenCom’s Director-General disclosed that the healthcare initiative had already undergone pilot testing, with some beneficiaries receiving cards to assess the system before its formal inauguration.
She said retirees who had not received their cards could approach their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to request them.
Oloworaran further revealed that the pension industry had committed more than ₦7 billion to PenCare, with insurance premiums already paid to provide coverage for nearly 30,000 retirees.
The programme is intended to reduce the healthcare burden on pensioners, particularly those with limited retirement income who may struggle to pay for essential medical treatment.
The President also highlighted other measures taken by his administration to address outstanding pension obligations and improve the financial position of retirees.
He disclosed that the Federal Government had issued a ₦758 billion bond to address longstanding pension arrears and approved a ₦32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.
Tinubu also said state governments had spent more than ₦1 trillion settling pension obligations.
Citing a World Bank report, he stated that 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 per cent to 61 per cent.
He attributed the improved financial capacity of state governments partly to the removal of the petrol subsidy, which increased the revenues available to the different tiers of government.
The President also referenced government-backed credit initiatives, saying they had unlocked more than ₦64 billion for 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately ₦53 billion in consumer credit.
On the broader pension sector, Oloworaran disclosed that state governments had inherited more than ₦2 trillion in pension liabilities, with approximately ₦1.07 trillion already settled.
She said the commission was also working towards expanding pension coverage beyond the formal workforce to include millions of Nigerians operating in the informal economy.
The proposed expansion is expected to cover traders, artisans, farmers and commercial transport operators, among other categories of workers who may not have access to conventional employer-sponsored pension arrangements.
According to her, accredited pension agents would play a role in facilitating enrolment, while additional incentives would be developed to encourage participation.
The PenCom chief said expanding coverage was necessary to ensure that more Nigerians could benefit from retirement savings and social protection, regardless of their employment arrangements.
She also disclosed that the pension industry was exploring ways to mobilise long-term pension funds for infrastructure investment, with the aim of supporting national development while generating returns for contributors.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hussaini Jallo, described the minimum pension guarantee and PenCare as important interventions in addressing income insecurity and healthcare challenges among retirees.
He pledged the National Assembly’s support for stronger pension governance, improved compliance with pension regulations and broader coverage, particularly for workers in the informal sector.
Jallo also stressed the importance of ensuring that pension reforms translate into practical benefits for retirees who depend on their monthly payments for survival.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, commended the initiatives and called for sustained collaboration between the public and private sectors to strengthen retirement security.
“These are not simply pension reforms. They are investments in human dignity,” Elumelu said.
He pledged private-sector support for partnerships aimed at improving financial inclusion and strengthening the welfare of Nigerians who had completed their working lives.
The launch of the Minimum Pension Guarantee and PenCare represents two major components of the Federal Government’s current pension security agenda: improving the income protection available to eligible low-income retirees and reducing the cost of essential healthcare.
The actual reach and long-term impact of the programmes will depend on sustained funding, effective administration, state-level participation and the timely delivery of benefits to eligible pensioners.
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