President Bola Tinubu has pledged to implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee and expand healthcare support for low-income retirees, while warning that infrastructure investment must not put workers’ retirement savings at risk.
The President made the commitments at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit in Abuja on Thursday, 29 October. Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume delivered his address.
Tinubu said the government would honour the pension guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014. The commitment concerns a protection mechanism that has remained unimplemented for more than 11 years.
The address did not specify the minimum benefit payable, eligibility conditions or when payments under the guarantee would begin. It also did not set out the funding arrangements for implementation.
The President said he had approved a ₦758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to settle outstanding accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund. He described the obligations as benefits earned through service, with some retirees having waited years for payment.
The approval is intended to address those liabilities. It does not, on its own, establish that every outstanding entitlement has been paid or that every eligible retiree has received money.
Tinubu also announced PenCare, a retiree wellbeing programme intended to begin by improving access to essential healthcare for low-income pensioners. The initiative places healthcare alongside income protection in the government’s plans for retirement support.
The President urged employers in both the public and private sectors to remit pension contributions fully and promptly. He described the withholding of deductions from workers’ pay as a breach of trust and called on the National Pension Commission to enforce compliance.
Pension fund administrators and custodians were asked to strengthen their investment expertise, diversify responsibly and reduce costs. Tinubu said their performance should be judged by the value delivered to contributors, rather than solely by the volume of assets under management.
He also warned against allowing retirement savings to lose value through inflation. Security of capital and disciplined investment growth needed to work together, he said.
Although pension assets could support infrastructure and productive businesses, the President said investment decisions must serve contributors’ interests. Projects should undergo proper assessments of risk and return rather than receive pension financing simply because they support national development objectives.
The summit also addressed the large number of Nigerians working outside conventional employer-based pension arrangements. Tinubu called for wider participation by traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed people through the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels.
He urged state governments, organised labour and other stakeholders to help expand coverage and improve compliance. The outcomes he called for included more enrolment, faster benefit payments, stronger investment performance and clearer disclosure.
The summit formed part of the first National Pension Week, running from 26 to 30 October under the theme “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together”. Its programme includes engagement with young people, small businesses, self-employed workers and retirees.
Tinubu said the system’s success should be measured by the financial security it provides in retirement. Implementation details for the minimum guarantee, including the benefit level and eligibility rules, remain to be announced.
Archive photograph: George Akume, via The Guardian Nigeria. Photographer and capture date not supplied.
