Pension reforms not 2027 campaign gimmick — PenCom

Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran.

The National Pension Commission has dismissed suggestions that the unveiling of its minimum pension guarantee and free healthcare initiatives for retirees was timed to boost President Bola Tinubu’s re-election prospects, saying the reforms were part of its ongoing mandate.

The PUNCH reported on Tuesday that  Tinubu had formally unveiled the N52,500 monthly guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, alongside PenCare, a free healthcare initiative for low-income pensioners.

PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, said the commission had been implementing pension reforms since July 2024 and was not guided by electoral considerations.

She spoke on Tuesday at a press conference at the State House, Abuja, following the unveiling of the initiatives.

Responding to a question on whether the timing of the unveiling was politically motivated, Oloworaran asked whether there was ever a wrong time to introduce measures aimed at improving the lives of Nigerians.

“Is there ever a time that is bad for doing good for ordinary Nigerians, for putting a smile on people’s faces? Every day you wake up, we try to see what we can do to improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians,” she said.

She cited previous pension increases, including the N32,000 consequential adjustment and an increase of more than 1,000 per cent for retirees of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund in January, as evidence that the reforms were not driven by the election calendar.

“When we did the pension boost, there was no election. The N32,000 consequential increase last year, was election knocking on the door? No. Earlier this year, retirees of NSITF in January got over 1,000 per cent increase. Should we have waited until December?” she said.

Oloworaran also said the unveiling was initially planned for September but was postponed to allow the pension industry to complete other preparations.

“This was supposed to be done in September when we were getting the president himself to attend, but then the industry said we needed to do some other things and we shifted.

“Everything we are doing, we are just doing our work. We don’t see elections. I don’t see competition. I’m just doing my work,” she said.

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She, however, acknowledged that the commission’s work could strengthen the President’s political standing, saying the administration had supported its activities.

“If my work makes the president look good, then it means I’m doing what he has hired me to do,” she said.

On the minimum pension guarantee, Oloworaran said all 173,209 eligible retirees earning below N52,500 would have their monthly pensions raised to that amount, regardless of their sector.

“Every eligible retiree who earns below N52,500 will be uplifted to N52,500. There is no discrimination, if you are within the Contributory Pension Scheme, you will get it,” she said.

She said states were responsible for funding their legacy pension obligations, which she put at N1.07tn, attributing their improved capacity to do so to increased allocations from the Federation Account following the Federal Government’s removal of the petrol subsidy.

“The Federal Government is not funding it. The states that want to fund it themselves, the reason they now have money to fund it is because of the reforms of Mr President, which has now released more money to the states,” she said.

Responding to reports that some state pensioners receive as little as N5,000 monthly, Oloworaran described the amount as unacceptable and said PenCom was working with state governments to improve their pension arrangements.

“Frankly, that’s a big shame. Receiving N5,000 is unacceptable,” she said.

She said the commission was engaging states on joining the Contributory Pension Scheme, contributing to the Pension Protection Fund and reviewing retirement benefits to reflect inflation.

Oloworaran explained that states must contribute to the Pension Protection Fund before their retirees can qualify for the minimum pension guarantee. She said PenCom was developing the modalities for bringing more states into the arrangement.

On the PenCare healthcare initiative, she said distribution of cards had begun before Tuesday’s formal launch, with between 25,000 and 30,000 cards issued to low-income retirees during pilot testing.