ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has approved nearly ₦1 trillion to clear outstanding pension liabilities accumulated over almost 20 years, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has disclosed.
Oloworaran announced this on Wednesday in Abuja at the maiden National Pension Week, themed “Pension for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” Daily Trust reports.
She said the administration had prioritised the welfare and dignity of retirees, citing interventions introduced to improve pension payments and address longstanding liabilities.
According to her, the government has implemented two pension increases under the Pension Boost 1.0 initiative, alongside a ₦32,000 consequential adjustment across the board.
She described the adjustment as the highest consequential pension increase at the federal level.
The PenCom director-general also announced plans to launch two welfare initiatives in November: the PennCare Health Initiative for low-income retirees and the Minimum Pension Guarantee.
She explained that PennCare would provide health insurance coverage for retirees, disclosing that a pilot programme involving 30,000 retirees was already underway.
Oloworaran expressed concern over the low pensions received by some retirees, saying the situation required urgent attention.
“Some people were earning ₦20,000 as pension. That is a grave anomaly that should never happen,” she said.
She stressed that retirement security must extend beyond the payment of monthly benefits, arguing that Nigerians who had devoted 30 to 35 years to public service should not be left to shoulder medical expenses without support.
The planned initiatives, she said, are intended to strengthen retirees’ financial and healthcare security.
