Federal Govt Expands Retirement Support With PenCare After N758bn Debt Clearance — PenCom

The federal government has expanded support for retirees with the planned launch of the PenCare Health Initiative, following the clearance of outstanding pension liabilities worth N758 billion, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said.

PenCom’s director-general, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the Senior Citizens Day of the maiden National Pension Week, themed “Pension for All: Building a Secure Future Together.”

She told retirees, senior citizens and stakeholders that the present administration had made the dignity of retirement a priority.

According to her, retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme now receive their benefits within 48 hours of retirement, provided their documentation is complete.

Oloworaran said that when she assumed leadership of the commission, many retirees waited almost two years to receive their entitlements. She said the situation showed that urgent changes were needed.

“When I assumed leadership of the National Pension Commission, people were retiring and waiting for almost two years to get paid. One thing was clear — things had to change,” she said.

The PenCom boss said the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, approved almost a trillion naira to address the pension backlog. She said the intervention covered all outstanding entitlements, including arrears that had remained unpaid for almost 20 years.

“We are fortunate to have a President who chose to act. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved almost a trillion naira prioritising ordinary Nigerians, prioritising our senior citizens, ensuring every kobo owed, including arrears from almost 20 years ago, was paid,” she said.

Oloworaran explained that the clearance of the N758 billion pension liabilities was only part of the government’s wider effort to improve retirement security. She said the administration had also implemented two major pension increases, known as Pension Boost 1.0 and a N32,000 consequential adjustment across board.

She described the N32,000 adjustment as the highest consequential increase at the federal level.

Beyond the payment of arrears and pension increases, Oloworaran said PenCom would launch two major welfare initiatives in November: the PennCare Health Initiative for low-income retirees and the Minimum Pension Guarantee.

She said PennCare would provide health insurance cover for retirees, adding that a pilot phase involving 30,000 retirees was already ongoing.

The director-general said the initiative was designed to address the hardship faced by retirees with very low pensions. She noted that some retirees were earning as little as N20,000 as pension, describing the situation as unacceptable.

“Some people were earning N20,000 as pension. That is a grave anomaly that should never happen,” she said.

Oloworaran said President Tinubu had chosen to correct what she described as an injustice against senior citizens. She said PennCare and the implementation of the Minimum Pension Guarantee would commence between the event and the following month.

“Between now and next month, we will launch PennCare and commence implementation of the minimum pension guarantee,” she said.

The PenCom DG stressed that retirement security should go beyond the payment of benefits. She said Nigerians who served the country for 30 to 35 years should not be left to struggle with medical bills alone.

National Pension Week is a weeklong engagement designed to gather feedback from Nigerians across sectors. It began with youths on Monday and continued with senior citizens on Tuesday.