With N758bn bond, minimum pension is guaranteed says Tinubu

• Assures no retiree will be forgotten with pencare

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that no Nigerian who has served the nation will be forgotten in retirement, as his administration moves to restore dignity, security and measurable value to the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The President stated this on Thursday at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

He was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.

Delivering the President’s address themed “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” Akume said President Tinubu views pension as a national obligation, not a favour.

“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,” the President said.

President Tinubu disclosed that he inherited pension obligations deferred for far too long, with retirees waiting years for accrued rights.

To reverse the injustice, he approved the N758b Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund.

“That was not an accounting exercise. It was an act of restitution to Nigerians who served their country and were made to wait for what they had earned,” Akume said on behalf of the President.

In a landmark policy shift, the President announced that his administration will finally honour the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014 – a promise that has never been implemented since enactment over 11 years ago.

“Since enactment, that promise has never been honoured. Under President Tinubu, it will be,” the SGF declared.

He further announced the launch of PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme that will begin by giving low-income retirees access to essential healthcare – marking a decisive shift from a system that merely holds savings to one that guarantees a floor of dignity.

According to President Tinubu, a strong pension system is both a social protection imperative and a strategic pillar of economic transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda, mobilising long-term domestic savings, deepening financial markets and supporting productive investment.

The President, however, warned that government cannot deliver retirement security alone.

He charged the National Pension Commission to remain firm, fair and forward-looking and enforce the law without fear or favour; charged employers public and private to remit contributions fully and promptly, saying, “to deduct a worker’s contribution and fail to remit it is not an administrative lapse. It is a breach of trust.”

The President challenged Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to deepen expertise, diversify responsibly, drive down costs and measure success not by assets under management but by what each contributor ultimately receives.

“Preservation without growth is a slow erosion. Retirement savings that fail to keep pace with inflation quietly betray the very people who saved them,” the President cautioned, insisting that security of capital and disciplined growth must go together.

He stressed that while pension assets should help build Nigeria through infrastructure and productive enterprise, national development must never come at the expense of pensioners.

Every investment, he said, must pass rigorous tests of risk and return and serve contributors’ best interests.

President Tinubu also directed an aggressive push beyond the formal sector, saying traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and millions of self-employed Nigerians deserve a realistic pathway to secure old age through the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels.

“Pensions for all must mean exactly that: all,” he said.

He called on State Governments, organised labour and all stakeholders to join hands to expand coverage and deepen compliance, insisting the summit must not end in speeches but in measurable commitments: more Nigerians enrolled, faster payment of benefits, stronger investment performance, clearer disclosure and more dignified outcomes.

“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,” President Tinubu declared.

“Above all, no Nigerian who has served this nation will be forgotten in retirement. Nigeria will keep faith with those who kept faith with Nigeria”, he assured.