Low-income retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) will no longer receive less than N52,500 a month, after President Bola Tinubu formally switched on the long-delayed Minimum Pension Guarantee in Abuja on Tuesday. The President also launched PenCare, a healthcare programme that gives vulnerable pensioners free access to essential medical services.
According to the National Pension Commission (PenCom), 173,209 retirees currently qualify for the new floor. Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, declared the scheme operational, ending what PenCom described as a 22-year wait to implement a promise written into Nigeria’s pension law.
What the N52,500 Minimum Pension Means
Under the arrangement, any eligible retiree on the contributory scheme whose monthly pension falls below N52,500 will have it topped up to that amount. PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran announced the figure in her opening remarks and, according to BusinessDay and Nairametrics, said it was arrived at through an actuarial assessment rather than picked arbitrarily. She added that it will be reviewed periodically.
The gap the guarantee is meant to close is wide. Oloworaran said some retirees had been living on monthly pensions of just over N20,000, and that more than 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently earn below the new minimum, The Gazette and allAfrica reported.
Of the 173,209 beneficiaries identified so far, PenCom said about 54 per cent are private-sector retirees, 34 per cent are federal retirees and 12 per cent are state retirees. However, reports indicate that state government retirees will only benefit once their state governments contribute to the Pension Protection Fund.
In his speech, the President urged future governments to keep the policy in place, saying they may increase the amount but should not scrap it. “Raise it, but never remove the floor,” he said, as quoted by allAfrica.
How the Guarantee Will Be Funded
PenCom says more than N400 billion is now available in the Pension Protection Fund to pay for the guarantee. The Commission said both the Federal Government and the pension industry have contributed to the fund, and Oloworaran called on private employers to contribute as well, arguing that businesses which benefit from workers’ labour should share the cost of protecting them in old age.
She blamed the long delay on the failure of successive administrations to set aside dedicated money for the guarantee. The provision was first introduced in the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained when the law was rewritten in 2014, but was never implemented.
PenCare: Free Healthcare for Low-Income Pensioners
Alongside the minimum pension, Tinubu launched PenCare, the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees. The scheme is funded by the pension industry, which PenCom said has committed more than N7 billion to it.
The President said PenCare would shield vulnerable retirees from medical bills that can quickly drain their savings, and that beneficiaries would begin receiving healthcare access cards in the coming months, according to reports of his speech. PenCom had earlier piloted the initiative this year among retirees aged 60 and above whose monthly pensions were below N70,000.
Background: A Year of Pension Reforms
The launch follows a series of pension measures by the Tinubu administration. In August 2025, the President directed PenCom to speed up pension increases, the minimum guarantee and free healthcare for low-income retirees after protests by pensioners in Abuja and other cities. PenCom has since said the Federal Government cleared pension liabilities of about N758 billion, according to Leadership and Arise News.
Pension adequacy has remained a major complaint. Arise News reported PenCom figures showing that close to 70 per cent of private-sector workers retire on pensions below the national minimum wage, a problem that rising food and transport costs have made more painful in recent years.
The announcement also comes about two months before the January 2027 general elections, and the government’s critics have frequently questioned its handling of the economy and the cost of living. Supporters of the administration present the guarantee as evidence that its reforms are reaching ordinary Nigerians.
What Happens Next
PenCom is expected to begin adjusting monthly payments for eligible retirees through their Pension Fund Administrators, while PenCare cards are rolled out over the coming months. Retirees who believe they qualify should contact their PFA to confirm their status.
Key questions remain, including how quickly state governments will pay into the Pension Protection Fund so that their retirees can benefit, and whether the private sector will respond to PenCom’s call to contribute. Pensioners’ unions are also likely to press for the N52,500 floor to be reviewed regularly in line with inflation.
Sources: BusinessDay, Nairametrics, Nigerian Tribune, The Gazette, allAfrica, Leadership, Arise News.
