PenCom Pilots Free Health Insurance For Retirees

The National Pension Commission (PenCom), the pension industry regulator, will pilot health insurance coverage for retirees within the next three months and activate the Minimum Pension Guarantee to safeguard retirees’ dignity and support a decent standard of living.

The director general of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, stated this via her X (Twitter) handle @Omololabo. She also disclosed that the regulator would unveil a series of guidelines to revolutionise the pension sector as part of its ‘Pension Revolution 2.0—Stronger Pensions, Stronger Nigeria’ project.

The guidelines expected to be unveiled, she said, would focus on investment and risk management, governance and compliance, service delivery, and financial inclusion. The project, which she said was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s economic directive, is a transformative programme of reforms that builds on two decades of progress to guide Nigeria’s pension industry into its next phase of growth and resilience.

To her, “this programme is guided by the vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has directed that our pension system must enable dignity in retirement, broaden access for all Nigerians, and mobilise long-term savings as reliable capital for national development.”

The PenCom DG stated that the first great turning point came in 2004 with the enactment of the Pension Reform Act (PRA), which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and revolutionised retirement savings in Nigeria, as that reform laid the foundation for confidence, discipline, and sustainability in the pension system.

“Two decades later, we stand at another defining moment. Pension Revolution 2.0 is the most significant advancement since 2004, bold in ambition, yet evolutionary in practice. It ushers in a new era of dignity for retirees, inclusion for every Nigerian worker, and resilience for our national economy,” she pointed out.

Beginning this week, she said, her commission will release the new regulations daily, as each guideline sets higher standards across critical pillars. Collectively, these reforms represent a bold step forward.

While the regulations enable dignity for retirees through health insurance and a minimum pension floor, she said: “it will optimise investment performance while safeguarding contributors’ funds to deliver sustainable long-term returns; expands pensions to reach every Nigerian, especially, those in the informal economy; harnesses technology and innovation to democratise access and improve service delivery as well as unlocks pension assets as a dependable source of financing for national development.”

Sequel to this development, PenCom, on Monday, issued the Revised Guidelines on Appointment to Board and Senior Management as well as the Revised Guideline on Corporate Governance.