Pension Is Wage Earned, Not A Favour, Says Tinubu

… Promises Minimum Pension Guarantee After 11 Years

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said pension is a wage earned and deferred, not a favour from government, and promised that no Nigerian who has served the country will be forgotten in retirement.

He also announced that his administration will, for the first time, implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014.

The President spoke on Thursday at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. He was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.

In the address, themed “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” Tinubu said he sees pension as a national obligation.

“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.

He said he inherited pension obligations that had been deferred for too long, with retirees waiting years for their accrued rights.

To address this, he said he approved a N758 billion 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.

On the Minimum Pension Guarantee, the President noted that the provision has never been implemented since the Pension Reform Act 2014 was enacted more than 11 years ago.

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

The President also announced the launch of PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme. It will begin by giving low-income retirees access to essential healthcare.

According to him, the move marks a shift from a system that merely holds savings to one that guarantees a floor of dignity.

Tinubu described a strong pension system as both a social protection need and a pillar of economic transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda. He said it mobilises long-term domestic savings, deepens financial markets and supports productive investment.

He, however, warned that government cannot deliver retirement security alone.

He charged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to remain firm, fair and forward-looking, and to enforce the law “without fear or favour.”

He also 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.

The President challenged Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to deepen their expertise, diversify responsibly and reduce costs. He said they should measure success by what each contributor finally receives, not by assets under management.

“Preservation without growth is a slow erosion. Retirement savings that fail to keep pace with inflation quietly betray the very people who saved them,” he cautioned.

He said pension assets should help build infrastructure and productive enterprise, but national development must never come at the expense of pensioners. Every investment, he added, must pass strict tests of risk and return and serve contributors’ best interests.

Tinubu also called for a stronger push beyond the formal sector. He said traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and millions of self-employed Nigerians deserve a realistic path to a secure old age through the Personal Pension Plan and new distribution channels.

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

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 Nigerians enrolled, faster payment of benefits, stronger investment performance and clearer disclosure.

“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,” the President said.

He concluded: “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.”