President Bola Tinubu has pledged to improve retirement security through a proposed ₦758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond and wider reforms aimed at addressing outstanding obligations to pensioners.
Speaking through Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit in Abuja, Tinubu described pension benefits as earned entitlements rather than government favors.
He said the bond was intended to help settle long-standing pension liabilities and support the Pension Protection Fund, while the administration planned to activate the minimum pension guarantee provided for under the Pension Reform Act 2014.
The president also outlined PenCare, a programme intended to improve access to essential healthcare for vulnerable retirees, and called for broader pension coverage among traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed Nigerians.
Director General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, meanwhile, insisted that the June 30, 2027 recapitalization deadline for Pension Fund Administrators and Pension Fund Custodians would not be extended. She said the industry’s next phase must prioritize financial resilience and meaningful benefits for contributors, rather than growth in assets alone.
Oloworaran raised concern about pension adequacy, saying nearly 70 per cent of private sector retirees received benefits below the national minimum wage. She linked the problem partly to the use of pensionable earnings, rather than total remuneration, as the basis for contributions, alongside weak compliance and investment performance.
Under the contributory framework, employers generally contribute 10 per cent and employees eight per cent of pensionable pay. PenCom said it would intensify enforcement against employers who deduct contributions without remitting them.
The commission also announced commitments by pension operators to establish three million additional funded and active accounts within a year. Oloworaran stressed that registration without actual savings would not improve retirement security.
She said pension assets had risen from ₦20.79 trillion in July 2024 to ₦31.8 trillion by August 2026, while warning that investment returns must be assessed against inflation.
PenCom indicated that a Pension Security Initiative, including the minimum pension guarantee and PenCare, was expected on November 10, subject to final arrangements. The proposed measures will ultimately depend on implementation, funding and compliance by employers and pension operators.
