Nigeria launches minimum pension guarantee after 12-year delay
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria
The Nigerian government is launching the minimum pension guarantee, a income floor for retirees whose retirement savings are insufficient, after a 12-year delay. According to the director general of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, the measure aims to tackle retiree poverty, according to Business Day.
Nigeria is launching the minimum pension guarantee (MPG) today, an income floor for retirees whose retirement savings are not enough to ensure a decent standard of living. The scheme, provided for under sections 82 and 84 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, is being launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, according to Business Day.
It is presented by Omolola Oloworaran, director general of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), at the National Pension Summit 2026, one of the events of the first National Pension Week. The launch is accompanied by the PenCare health programme. According to her, these initiatives should strengthen the protection of contributors and improve the wellbeing of Nigerian workers and retirees.
Ekene Maduagwuna, a lawyer and pensions adviser, stresses that retirees’ income must be assessed against recurring expenses: food, housing, transport, electricity, medicine and healthcare. “The MPG aims to address an important aspect of this problem,” he said. “Instead of making retirement income depend solely on the balance of the individual retirement savings, the guarantee introduces a legal minimum protection for those who meet the eligibility conditions.”
