Tinubu launches N52,500 minimum pension for 173,209 retirees

President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 retirees and inaugurated PenCare, a free healthcare plan for low-income pensioners.

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday unveiled a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, ending a 22-year delay in implementing the provision of the Pension Reform Act, Punch reports. Represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, he also inaugurated PenCare, a healthcare plan providing free essential services to low-income pensioners. “From this day, there is a floor beneath the Nigerian retiree. No one who contributed under the Contributory Pension Scheme will ever be allowed to fall below,” he said. He urged future administrations: “Raise it. But never remove the floor.”

Pension Commission Director-General Omolola Oloworaran said 173,209 retirees qualify, with more than N400bn available in the Pension Protection Fund. “The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” she noted. Tinubu added that beneficiaries would begin receiving healthcare access cards in the coming months.