FG Announces N52,500 Minimum Monthly Pension for 173,209 Nigerian Retirees
- The FG launched a minimum monthly pension guarantee for eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
- PenCom revealed that a N400 billion Pension Protection Fund has been established to finance the initiative, fulfilling a 22-year-old pension law provision.
- The pension industry also committed over N7 billion to cover healthcare costs for nearly 30,000 low-income retirees under the PenCare initiative.
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The Federal Government has set a N52,500 minimum monthly pension for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), with 173,209 pensioners across the public and private sectors expected to receive the benefit.
Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), announced the initiative on Tuesday, November 10, at the launch of the Presidential Pension Security Initiative in Abuja.
Source: Getty Images
She said the government had created a N400 billion Pension Protection Fund to back the guarantee, which is designed to top up the incomes of retirees currently earning below the approved threshold.
Oloworaran noted that some pensioners were receiving as little as just above N20,000 per month, making the minimum income floor urgently necessary. She added that the N52,500 figure was derived from an actuarial review and would be revisited over time.
She said:
"The figure was not plucked from the air; it has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review. And it is funded."
FG addresses 22-year-old pension provision
The PenCom chief said the minimum pension guarantee fulfils a clause written into the 2004 pension reform law that no previous administration had funded or implemented. The 173,209 eligible retirees are made up of 34% from the Federal Government, 12% from state governments and 54% from the private sector.
Oloworaran expressed concern over the situation of private-sector retirees specifically, saying more than 65% of them currently receive pensions below the new floor. She called on private companies to contribute to the Pension Protection Fund.
"The Federal Government has put its money into this fund. The pension industry has put its money into this fund as well. The offering basket for the Pension Protection Fund is now on the private sector's table. Please do not let it pass empty," she said.
Pension industry commits N7bn to retirees' healthcare
Beyond the pension floor, Oloworaran said the pension industry had raised more than N7 billion to pay for health insurance for low-income retirees.
The funding has already covered premium costs for close to 30,000 pensioners under the PenCare initiative, with the remaining balance held in a dedicated account.
She described the situation of one elderly woman who kept a doctor's prescription in her purse because filling it would leave her without money for food, saying the healthcare programme would eliminate that kind of impossible choice.
Oloworaran also disclosed that the Federal Government had helped states clear N1.07 trillion of the more than N2 trillion in legacy pension liabilities inherited when the current administration took office, with 13 states now having settled their debts in full or paid at least 80% of what was owed.
Source: UGC
On investment, she said the pension industry was committing $100 million to an infrastructure investment programme, with an additional $50 million expected from development partners. Deployment is targeted before the end of the first half of 2027.
PenCom also announced plans to extend pension coverage to informal-sector workers, including market traders, artisans and farmers, through accredited agents deployed to markets, motor parks and local communities.
Source: Legit.ng
