Tinubu Approves ₦758 Billion Pension Bond, Activates Minimum Pension Guarantee and PenCare
ABUJA, NIGERIA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a ₦758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to clear backlogs of accrued pension rights.
The President made the declaration on Thursday at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit in Abuja.
Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, the President stated that pensions are a fundamental national obligation.
“A pension is not a favour granted by Government,” Tinubu said. “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 newly approved ₦758 billion bond infusion serves as a major financial lifeline for the country’s retirement framework. The capital injection will immediately clear outstanding deferred pension obligations and strengthen the financial foundation of the Pension Protection Fund.
The administration is also officially activating the Minimum Pension Guarantee, marking the first time the provision will be implemented since it was legally mandated by the Pension Reform Act over a decade ago.
Alongside these structural adjustments, the federal government is introducing ‘PenCare’, a new national retiree wellbeing initiative which is expected to fundamentally change the system by providing low-income senior citizens with direct access to essential healthcare services.
“Restitution, Not Accounting”
President Tinubu acknowledged that his administration inherited heavily backlogged pension liabilities that forced older Nigerians to wait years for their rightful earnings. He characterized the new ₦758 billion bond not as a mere accounting adjustment but as a direct “act of restitution” to restore dignity to the country’s senior citizens.
The SGF emphasized that the implementation of the Minimum Pension Guarantee represents a historic policy shift, correcting over a decade of regulatory non-compliance since the law’s enactment.
Warning to Defaulting Employers and PFAs
The President issued a stern warning to both public and private employers regarding non-remittance of pension deductions, classifying the failure to remit as a criminal breach of trust rather than an administrative oversight.
Furthermore, Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) were instructed to restructure their success metrics. Tinubu cautioned that inflation quietly erodes stagnant retirement savings, ordering PFAs to prioritize both security of capital and disciplined, inflation-beating growth.
As part of the “Renewed Hope” agenda, the President directed the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to aggressively roll out the Personal Pension Plan. The initiative aims to scale up coverage to millions of self-employed Nigerians—including artisans, traders, farmers, and transport workers.
“Pensions for All must mean exactly that: all,” Tinubu concluded, challenging stakeholders to ensure the summit translates into faster benefit payouts and expanded enrollment.
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