Tinubu unveils ₦52,500 minimum pension for retirees

President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a ₦52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), ending a 22-year delay in implementing the provision of the Pension Reform Act. The President also inaugurated the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, designed to provide free essential healthcare services to low-income pensioners.

Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, announced the initiatives on Tuesday at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja. Declaring the Minimum Pension Guarantee operational, the President 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.” He explained that the guarantee, first provided for under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 legislation, 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. Tinubu urged future administrations to sustain the initiative, declaring: “Raise it. But never remove the floor.” On healthcare, he said PenCare would protect vulnerable retirees from medical expenses capable of depleting their pension savings.

“PenCare gives our low-income retirees access to essential healthcare 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 ₦758bn bond to address longstanding pension arrears and approved a ₦32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.

He said state governments had spent more than ₦1tn 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 about 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the proportion of their budgets allocated to capital projects rose from 46 to 61 per cent.

He further disclosed that government-backed credit initiatives had unlocked more than ₦64bn for 174,000 borrowers, while over 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately ₦53bn 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 ₦52,500 monthly.

“The minimum pension in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is ₦52,500 every month,” she said. According to her, 173,209 retirees qualify for the guarantee, comprising 34 per cent from federal 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 subject to periodic review.

“The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” Oloworaran said. She disclosed that more than ₦400bn was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the guarantee, while over 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently earned below the new minimum threshold. The PenCom boss also revealed that state governments inherited more than ₦2tn in pension liabilities, of which ₦1.07tn had been settled.

On healthcare, she said the pension industry had committed more than ₦7bn to PenCare after paying premiums covering nearly 30,000 retirees. Oloworaran further announced plans to expand pension coverage to informal-sector workers, including traders, artisans and farmers. She also disclosed that the pension industry had committed 750m to an infrastructure investment platform, with another $50m expected from development partners and initial deployment 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 needs and income insecurity. He pledged the National Assembly’s support for stronger pension governance, improved compliance and expanded pension coverage, particularly for workers in the informal sector.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, commended the initiatives, describing them as investments in the welfare of Nigerians who had completed their working lives. “These are not simply pension reforms. They are investments in human dignity,” he said. Elumelu pledged private-sector support for partnerships aimed at strengthening retirement security and financial inclusion.