Nigeria raises 173,209 pensions to 52,500 naira
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
Nigeria is now paying a guaranteed minimum pension of 52,500 naira per month to retirees under the contributory scheme, and 173,209 of them, who sometimes received barely more than 20,000 naira, will be raised to this level, PenCom Director-General Omolola Oloworaran announced. Tony Elumelu welcomed the scheme and the PenCare free healthcare plan for low-income retirees, funded by the pension industry, at their launch in Abuja, according to Vanguard.
Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and Transcorp, said the PenCare scheme and the minimum pension guarantee should address the two main concerns of retirees, access to healthcare and income security. He spoke in Abuja at the launch of the presidential initiatives on pension security, according to Vanguard.
PenCare, funded by the pension sector, provides free healthcare to low-income retirees. Elumelu described the two programmes as “investments in human dignity” and called on the private sector to support policies and partnerships aimed at strengthening institutions.
Omolola Oloworaran, Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), said the minimum guarantee is funded by a 400 billion naira pension protection fund, financed by the federal government and the pension sector. She said the amount of 52,500 naira had been validated by an actuary and could be revised. States must also contribute to the fund for their retirees to benefit from the guarantee.
