Tinubu Moves To End 11-Year Wait For Minimum Pension Guarantee
Dr. Nafisat Makinde, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has pledged to implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee under the Pension Reform Act 2014, alongside a N758 billion pension bond to settle accrued pension rights and a healthcare programme for low-income retirees.
The announcements were made at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The development was contained in a statement signed by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Tinubu was represented at the summit by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Addressing the summit on the theme, “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” Tinubu said pensions were earned entitlements rather than government favours. “A pension is not a favour granted by Government. It is a wage earned, deferred and held in trust. It is a promise. And this Administration has resolved that the promise will be kept,” he said. He added that his administration inherited pension obligations that had left some retirees waiting years for their accrued rights.
Tinubu said he had approved the N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund. He described the measure as restitution for Nigerians who had waited for benefits earned through years of service. On the Minimum Pension Guarantee, he said the provision had remained unimplemented since the Pension Reform Act was enacted in 2014. “Since enactment, that promise has never been honoured. Under President Tinubu, it will be,” Akume said while delivering the president’s address.
The president also announced PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme that will initially provide low-income retirees with access to essential healthcare. The statement did not specify when the programme would begin, its eligibility criteria or the medical services to be covered. Tinubu said pension assets could support infrastructure and productive investment but insisted that investment decisions must meet rigorous risk and return requirements and protect contributors’ interests.
Tinubu urged the National Pension Commission to enforce pension laws fairly and called on public and private employers to remit workers’ pension contributions promptly. “To deduct a worker’s contribution and fail to remit it is not an administrative lapse. It is a breach of trust,” he said. He also challenged Pension Fund Administrators and custodians to manage investments responsibly, reduce costs and protect savings against inflation. “Preservation without growth is a slow erosion,” he said.
The president called for wider pension coverage among traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed Nigerians through the Personal Pension Plan and additional distribution channels. He urged state governments, organised labour and other stakeholders to work towards increased enrolment, faster benefit payments, improved transparency and stronger investment performance. “The true measure of our success will not be how much money the system holds. It will be how much security, and how much dignity, it delivers,” he said. Akume received an award for Excellence in Pension Sector Leadership and Support at the summit.