President Bola Tinubu has launched a ₦52,500 minimum monthly pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), alongside a free healthcare initiative for low-income pensioners.
The President announced the commencement of the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, during the launch of the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives at the State House, Abuja. He was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The scheme is designed to raise the monthly pensions of eligible retirees receiving less than ₦52,500 to the new minimum threshold.
Declaring the initiative operational, Tinubu said no Nigerian who contributed to the Contributory Pension Scheme should be allowed to fall below the guaranteed pension level.
He explained that the minimum pension guarantee was provided for under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 amendment but had remained unimplemented for 22 years.
Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that 173,209 retirees would benefit from the initiative.
According to her, beneficiaries comprise 34 per cent of federal retirees, 12 per cent of state government retirees and 54 per cent of private-sector pensioners.
Oloworaran said the ₦52,500 minimum pension had been validated by an actuary and would be reviewed periodically. She added that more than ₦400 billion was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the programme.
However, state-sector retirees’ eligibility will depend on funding arrangements and the participation of their respective state governments in the Pension Protection Fund.
Tinubu also unveiled the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, to provide essential healthcare services free of charge to low-income pensioners.
The President said the initiative would shield vulnerable retirees from medical expenses that could significantly deplete their pension savings.
PenCom disclosed that the pension industry had committed more than ₦7 billion to the healthcare programme, with premiums already paid to provide coverage for nearly 30,000 retirees.
The President further revealed that his administration had issued a ₦758 billion bond to address outstanding pension liabilities.
He also announced the approval of a ₦32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.
Tinubu urged successive administrations to sustain the minimum pension guarantee, stressing that the amount could be increased when necessary but the protection must never be withdrawn.
The initiatives form part of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen retirement security, improve pensioners’ welfare and expand access to affordable healthcare for vulnerable retirees.
