President Bola Tinubu has said a pension is a wage earned and deferred, not a favour from government. He also announced that his administration will implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee for the first time.
The President spoke on Thursday at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, represented him.
The summit’s theme was “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together.”
“A pension is not a favour granted by Government. It is a wage earned, deferred and held in trust,” Tinubu said in his address.
He said he inherited pension obligations that had been deferred for too long. As a result, retirees waited years for what they had earned. To address this, he approved a N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond. The bond will settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund.
Minimum Pension Guarantee
Tinubu noted that the Minimum Pension Guarantee has never been implemented since the Pension Reform Act 2014 was enacted more than 11 years ago. “Under President Tinubu, it will be,” Akume said on his behalf.
The President also announced PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme. It will start by giving low-income retirees access to essential healthcare. He said the move shifts the system from one that merely holds savings to one that guarantees a floor of dignity.
Warning to Employers and Fund Managers
Tinubu said government cannot deliver retirement security alone. He charged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to enforce the law “without fear or favour.”
He urged public and private employers to remit workers’ contributions fully and 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 deepen their expertise, diversify responsibly and cut costs. He said they should judge success by what each contributor finally receives, not by assets under management.
Pension assets, he added, should help fund infrastructure and productive enterprise. However, development must never come at the expense of pensioners.
Coverage Beyond the Formal Sector
Tinubu called for a stronger push beyond the formal sector. Traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and other self-employed Nigerians deserve a realistic path to a secure old age, he said. He pointed to the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels as the route.
He urged state governments, organised labour and other stakeholders to help expand coverage and improve compliance. He said the summit must end in measurable commitments, including more enrolments, faster payment of benefits and clearer disclosure.
“Pensions for All must mean exactly that: all,” he said.
