Tinubu Introduces N52,500 Minimum Monthly Pension For 173,209 Retirees

By Sabiu Abdullahi

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

The President also unveiled the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, which is designed to provide free access to essential medical services for pensioners with low incomes.

The initiatives were launched on Tuesday at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. Tinubu was represented at the event by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

While 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.”

Tinubu explained that the policy was originally contained in the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and maintained in the 2014 legislation. However, successive administrations had failed to implement it.

“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 also urged future governments to sustain the policy and improve its provisions rather than discontinue it.

“Raise it. But never remove the floor.”

On the healthcare component, Tinubu said PenCare would shield financially vulnerable pensioners from medical bills that could deplete their retirement savings.

“PenCare gives our low-income retirees access to essential health care without charge,” he said, adding that beneficiaries would receive healthcare access cards in the coming months.

The President further revealed that his administration had issued a N758bn bond to clear outstanding pension obligations and approved a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.

He also disclosed that state governments had collectively spent more than N1tn to settle pension liabilities, partly due to improved revenue following the removal of fuel subsidy.

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

He added that government-supported credit programmes had facilitated more than N64bn in loans for 174,000 borrowers, while approximately N53bn in consumer credit had reached over 350,000 Nigerians.

Earlier, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that the minimum monthly pension under the new arrangement had been set at N52,500.

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

Oloworaran explained that 173,209 pensioners qualified for the scheme, with federal retirees accounting for 34 per cent, state retirees representing 12 per cent and private-sector retirees making up the remaining 54 per cent.

She said the approved amount was determined through actuarial assessment and would undergo periodic reviews.

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

The PenCom director-general also announced that the Pension Protection Fund had more than N400bn available to finance the guarantee.

She further disclosed that over 65 per cent of retirees from the private sector currently receive monthly pensions below the newly established minimum.

On the pension obligations inherited by state governments, Oloworaran revealed that their outstanding liabilities exceeded N2tn, although N1.07tn had already been paid.