Tinubu Unveils PenCare to Provide Free Healthcare for Low-Income Pensioners

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled PenCare, a national healthcare initiative designed to provide free medical services to pensioners, beginning with retirees on low incomes.

Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, announced the initiative at the opening of National Pension Week in Abuja on Thursday. The programme is intended to improve access to essential healthcare for senior citizens with limited financial resources.

In his address, themed “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” the President described a strong pension system as both a social protection necessity and a driver of economic transformation under his Renewed Hope Agenda.

Tinubu said pensions should be treated as an obligation to workers who had served the country, rather than a favour granted by the government.

“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,” he said.

The President also disclosed that he had approved a N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund. He described the measure as an effort to compensate retirees who had waited for their earned benefits.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, reaffirmed that pension fund administrators and custodians must complete their recapitalisation by June 30, 2027. She said the deadline remained unchanged and was necessary to strengthen institutions responsible for safeguarding workers’ retirement savings.

Oloworaran also announced plans to expand the Contributory Pension Scheme to traders, artisans, farmers and commercial transport operators through the Personal Pension Plan. According to her, pension industry operators have committed to opening at least three million new funded and active pension accounts within one year.

“Not registrations, three million funded active accounts, new accounts, because an empty account is a statistic, but a funded account is a future,” she said.

The PenCom chief further disclosed that the commission was working towards implementing the Minimum Pension Guarantee to provide financial protection for vulnerable retirees. She said the commission was also addressing concerns over inadequate pension benefits, particularly among private-sector workers whose retirement payments fall below the national minimum wage.

Oloworaran stated that almost 70 per cent of private-sector employees retire with pensions below the national minimum wage. She added that more than 55 per cent of all retirees receiving pensions below that threshold come from the private sector.

She urged employers to calculate pension contributions using a more realistic earnings base and support the Pension Protection Fund. She also said pension assets could contribute to national development by financing infrastructure, housing, power and businesses, provided investments were prudent and protected contributors’ interests.

The commission, she added, was reviewing regulations to facilitate such investments while safeguarding pension funds.