Tinubu launches N52,500 minimum pension for retirees

President Bola Tinubu has launched the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG), fixing N52,500 as the minimum monthly pension for eligible retirees enrolled in the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Represented by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the launch of the Presidential Pension Security Initiative in Abuja on Tuesday, the President also approved the rollout of PenCare. The new healthcare programme, funded by the pension industry, is designed to provide low-income retirees with free access to essential medical services.

Addressing the gathering, the President stated that the MPG, which had remained unimplemented for 22 years despite provisions in successive pension reform laws, permanently secures the financial dignity of senior citizens.

“To every administration that comes after me, hear me clearly. This floor is now part of a compact between the Nigerian state and the Nigerian worker. Raise it, but never remove the floor,” the President declared.

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, confirmed that a N400 billion Pension Protection Fund has been established by the Federal Government to finance the initiative. The intervention will protect over 173,000 retirees whose current monthly payments fall below the approved threshold.

Oloworaran revealed that before this intervention, some retirees had been receiving monthly pensions above N20,000.

She stated that the N52,500 figure was determined through a actuarial assessment and will remain subject to periodic review.

The PenCom DG also explained that of the 173,209 expected beneficiaries, 34 per cent are federal retirees, 12 per cent retired from state governments, while 54 per cent are from the private sector.