President Bola Tinubu has launched the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG), setting N52,500 as the minimum monthly pension for eligible retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme.
The President described the guarantee as a statutory right of workers rather than a discretionary benefit that any administration could withdraw, noting that it had remained unimplemented for 22 years despite provisions in successive pension reform laws.
Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the launch of the Presidential Pension Security Initiative in Abuja on Tuesday, said the programme marked a significant step towards strengthening retirement security in the country.
He directed future administrations to sustain the minimum pension threshold, saying subsequent governments could increase the amount but must not abolish it.
“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,” he said.
The Minimum Pension Guarantee is designed to ensure that eligible retirees under the contributory scheme receive no less than the approved monthly threshold.
Tinubu said the initiative would address a longstanding gap in pension administration, citing Sections 71 of the Pension Reform Act 2004 and Sections 82 and 84 of the 2014 Act, which provide for the guarantee and the establishment of a fund to finance it.
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The President also launched PenCare, a healthcare programme designed to provide low-income retirees with free access to essential medical services. The initiative is funded by the pension industry.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, said some retirees had previously received monthly pensions of just above N20,000.
She disclosed that the Federal Government had established a N400bn Pension Protection Fund to finance the scheme, describing it as a major intervention to protect retirees whose monthly payments fall below the approved threshold.
Oloworaran said the N52,500 minimum was determined through an actuarial assessment and would be reviewed periodically.
“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,” she said.
She explained that the minimum pension guarantee had remained on paper for 22 years because successive administrations failed to provide dedicated funding for its implementation.
According to her, 173,209 retirees are expected to benefit from the initiative. Of this number, 34 per cent retired from the Federal Government, 12 per cent from state governments and 54 per cent from the private sector.