Key Takeaways
- • President Bola Tinubu approved a N758bn Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund, which he described as restitution to retirees who waited years for benefits.
- • Tinubu announced plans to implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which he said had gone unimplemented for more than 11 years.
- • The President launched PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme providing access to essential healthcare for low-income pensioners.
- • Tinubu warned public and private employers against deducting pension contributions without remitting them, calling it a breach of trust, and charged the National Pension Commission with enforcement.
- • Tinubu urged Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to diversify investments responsibly, reduce costs, and generate returns that protect contributors against inflation, and called for pension coverage to extend to informal-sector workers.
Summary
President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerian retirees that no citizen who has served the country will be forgotten in retirement, pledging to strengthen the Contributory Pension Scheme and improve pensioners' welfare. Speaking at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume, said his administration regards pension payments as an obligation to workers rather than a privilege granted by government. He described pension benefits as earnings deferred by workers and held in trust for their retirement.
Tinubu disclosed that he had approved a N758bn Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund. According to him, the measure addresses outstanding obligations inherited by his administration, including cases in which retirees waited years for accrued benefits. The President also announced plans to implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which he said had remained unimplemented for more than 11 years, and said the policy shift would strengthen retirement protection. He further announced PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme intended to provide healthcare access for low-income pensioners, extending retirement protection beyond savings and benefit payments.
On the investment side, Tinubu said the success of pension fund management should be measured by benefits received by contributors rather than assets under management. He cautioned that retirement savings must generate returns that protect against inflation, and that pension assets, while able to fund infrastructure and productive enterprises, must meet rigorous risk-and-return requirements. He called on Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to improve expertise, diversify investments responsibly and reduce costs, and charged the National Pension Commission with enforcing regulations "without fear or favour."
Tinubu also warned employers in the public and private sectors against deducting workers' pension contributions without remitting them to the appropriate accounts, describing the practice as a breach of trust. He called for pension coverage to expand beyond the formal sector to traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed Nigerians, pointing to the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels as means of access. He urged state governments and organised labour to improve compliance and speed up benefit payments. Tinubu said the summit's outcome should be judged by increased enrolment, stronger investment performance, clearer disclosure and better retirement outcomes.
Tinubu disclosed that he had approved a N758bn Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund. According to him, the measure addresses outstanding obligations inherited by his administration, including cases in which retirees waited years for accrued benefits. The President also announced plans to implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which he said had remained unimplemented for more than 11 years, and said the policy shift would strengthen retirement protection. He further announced PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme intended to provide healthcare access for low-income pensioners, extending retirement protection beyond savings and benefit payments.
On the investment side, Tinubu said the success of pension fund management should be measured by benefits received by contributors rather than assets under management. He cautioned that retirement savings must generate returns that protect against inflation, and that pension assets, while able to fund infrastructure and productive enterprises, must meet rigorous risk-and-return requirements. He called on Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to improve expertise, diversify investments responsibly and reduce costs, and charged the National Pension Commission with enforcing regulations "without fear or favour."
Tinubu also warned employers in the public and private sectors against deducting workers' pension contributions without remitting them to the appropriate accounts, describing the practice as a breach of trust. He called for pension coverage to expand beyond the formal sector to traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed Nigerians, pointing to the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels as means of access. He urged state governments and organised labour to improve compliance and speed up benefit payments. Tinubu said the summit's outcome should be judged by increased enrolment, stronger investment performance, clearer disclosure and better retirement outcomes.
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