Bamidele Dave, Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated two pension security initiatives aimed at improving retirement benefits and expanding access to healthcare for vulnerable pensioners across the country.
The initiatives, the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme and PenCare, were unveiled on Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, under the theme, “Securing Every Nigerian’s Future.”
Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said the initiatives were designed to strengthen retirement security and improve the welfare of pensioners in line with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He described the inauguration as the fulfilment of provisions contained in the Pension Reform Acts of 2004 and 2014, which established the framework for a guaranteed minimum pension but had remained unimplemented for 22 years.
According to him, the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme will ensure that contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme receive a guaranteed minimum pension, providing additional protection for retirees with inadequate retirement savings.
The President also introduced PenCare, a pension industry-funded healthcare initiative designed to provide essential medical services to low-income retirees at no cost.
He said the programme would improve access to healthcare and ease the financial burden of medical expenses on vulnerable pensioners.
Tinubu disclosed that the Federal Government had issued a N758 billion bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities, while approving a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for federal pensioners earning below the national minimum wage.
He further highlighted pension enhancements under the Contributory Pension Scheme, describing them as unprecedented in the country’s history.
The President commended state governors for utilising increased allocations to address outstanding pension obligations, noting that more than N1 trillion had been spent on settling pension arrears.
He urged successive administrations to sustain the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme, stressing the need to preserve the initiative as part of the country’s commitment to workers and retirees.
Tinubu also announced that PenCare health access cards would be distributed to pensioners and other beneficiaries in the coming months.
He linked the initiatives to the broader economic reforms of his administration, including the removal of petrol subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange rates.
According to him, resources previously committed to fuel subsidies are now available to state governments for investment in critical sectors, including infrastructure, education, healthcare and pension obligations.
Citing a World Bank report published in October, the President said state revenues increased by about 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.
Earlier, some retirees, including Sunday Enogele, Mary Asaba and Monday Ebhohimen, who testified to receiving increased pension benefits under the new arrangements, commended the President and the management of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for the initiatives.
The event featured the presentation of the PenCare health access card and the formal unveiling of the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme.
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