- FG Approves 100% gratuity efficient January 2026
- Tunji Andrews: grassroots partnerships essential to pension protection, poverty eradication
James Emejo in Abuja
Director General/Chief Executive, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, Wednesday disclosed that accrued pension rights of potential federal authorities retirees have been absolutely funded as much as 21 months, assuring that their retirement financial savings are adequately supplied for forward of their eventual exit from service.
Oloworaran spoke on the 2026 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PenCAN) convention with the theme, “The Role of Regulator, Operators in Actualising Nigeria’s $1 Trillion Economy Target”, in Abuja.
She mentioned the event mirrored ongoing efforts to strengthen the monetary sustainability of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and assure the fee of retirement advantages as and when due.
The PenCom DG additionally disclosed that the federal authorities had accredited the fee of 100 per cent gratuity to staff retiring beneath the CPS, efficient January 1, 2026, with disbursement to eligible beneficiaries already underway.
Represented by Head of the Corporate Communications Department, PenCom, Mr. Ibrahim Buwai, she mentioned the fee was more and more shifting past coverage pronouncements to precise supply of advantages, citing the graduation of the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG) as one other main intervention.
She defined that the absolutely funded accrued pension rights meant that the entitlements of potential federal retirees had been adequately supplied for, decreasing uncertainty over their eventual retirement funds.
On the restoration of gratuity, Oloworaran mentioned the federal government’s approval successfully addressed one of the longstanding considerations surrounding the contributory pension association, clarifying that the CPS neither abolished gratuity nor prevented employers from introducing extra retirement advantages.
According to her, Section 4 of the Pension Reform Act gives a authorized foundation for employers to supply supplementary advantages past the obligatory pension contributions.
She mentioned, “Since the advent of the Contributory Pension Scheme, there has been concern about what used to be called gratuity.
“The Contributory Pension Programme did not abolish any benefit. Section 4 of the Pension Reform Act encourages and allows employers to provide additional benefits.”
She pressured that the approval took impact from January 1, 2026, including that the fee had commenced processing functions and paying eligible retirees reasonably than ready for all excellent functions to be accomplished.
In one other important growth, the PenCom chief introduced the activation of the long-awaited Minimum Pension Guarantee, which commenced with eligible low-income retirees receiving computerized will increase of their month-to-month pensions.
She described the initiative as a significant milestone for the pension trade, noting that the availability had existed within the pension framework since 2004 however remained unimplemented for years largely as a result of of funding constraints.
According to her, the programme had now moved from coverage approval to precise implementation, with beneficiaries already receiving fee alerts.
She mentioned, “You know, in Nigeria, we are used to when many initiatives are announced, then the next issue becomes what is it going to take to implement them.
“I’m happy to tell you that the Minimum Pension Guarantee actually took off yesterday. We are actually receiving the alerts while the event is going on.”
Oloworaran defined that the intervention was particularly designed to guard susceptible retirees whose month-to-month pensions fell under an accredited minimal threshold.
She famous that some pensioners at present obtained as little as N20,000 month-to-month, making it tough for them to deal with rising residing and healthcare prices.
Under the association, eligible beneficiaries would mechanically have their month-to-month pensions elevated to the prescribed minimal stage, offering a primary earnings flooring for retirees whose gathered pension financial savings couldn’t assure enough advantages.
She mentioned the activation of the scheme demonstrated the fee’s willpower to make sure that pension reforms translated into measurable enhancements within the welfare of contributors and retirees.
On healthcare, Oloworaran highlighted the PenCare initiative, designed to ease the medical expenditure burden on retirees and assist protect extra of their month-to-month pension earnings for different important wants.
She defined that healthcare remained a significant element of retirees’ expenditure, typically consuming a considerable proportion of their restricted month-to-month advantages and leaving them with insufficient assets for different requirements.
According to her, PenCare was conceived as an oblique income-support mechanism that will enhance retirees’ disposable earnings by decreasing out-of-pocket medical bills.
She, nonetheless, emphasised that the programme had been designed round a sustainable funding construction that will not place extra burdens on future generations of pension contributors.
She mentioned funding could be sourced via pension fund assets and collaborating firms, with extra help anticipated from growth companions and donors.
The initiative would additionally function beneath an impartial board comprising professionals and consultants to make sure sound governance, transparency and accountability.
Oloworaran maintained that the varied interventions mirrored a broader repositioning of the pension trade from a system largely targeted on accumulating retirement financial savings to 1 more and more involved with the standard of life and monetary safety of pensioners.
She urged stakeholders, notably the media, to maintain scrutiny of the trade, stressing that the credibility of pension reforms trusted translating authorities and regulatory commitments into tangible outcomes.
She additionally reiterated PenCom’s dedication to transparency, noting that bulletins of new initiatives have to be supported by proof of implementation and precise advantages to pension contributors and retirees.
Andrews: grassroots partnerships essential to pension protection, poverty eradication
Meanwhile, Co-founder/Chief Executive of Awabah, Mr. Tunji Andrews, mentioned digital improvements have lowered the necessities for onboarding contributors to the Personal Pension Plan (PPP) from about 25 fields to only 4.
Noting that the drive to increase pension protection to the nation’s huge casual workforce was gaining traction, he mentioned the simplification of the onboarding course of, pushed by regulatory improvements launched by PenCom, had eliminated important limitations to participation and opened up alternatives for wider pension inclusion.
Speaking on the convention, he identified that the event, alongside strategic partnerships with fee service suppliers and company banking networks, was positioning the micro-pension scheme for deeper penetration, notably amongst employees outdoors the formal employment system.
Awabah is a Nigerian fintech platform that gives digital pension, micro-pension, and social welfare providers, together with medical insurance, life assurance, and accident cowl, tailor-made to the casual sector and gig economic system.
Andrews mentioned Awabah had established partnerships with Moniepoint and Interswitch, whereas additionally working with different company community operators to broaden entry to pension registration and contributions throughout the nation.
Under the association, he defined, Moniepoint prospects and its intensive agent community might entry the PPP, register and make a contribution instantly via the platform.
He mentioned related preparations with different monetary expertise and company banking operators have been anticipated to strengthen the distribution infrastructure required to convey pension providers nearer to underserved communities.
According to him, Awabah can also be collaborating with two extra monetary service suppliers with important grassroots presence to speed up enrolment.
Andrews pressured that the success of the casual sector pension initiative would rely largely on the flexibility of operators to maneuver past standard pension distribution channels and leverage current community-based monetary networks.
He mentioned the target was to make sure that employees within the casual economic system weren’t excluded from the nation’s retirement financial savings system, regardless of their location or employment circumstances.
Andrews disclosed that Awabah had launched a grassroots engagement initiative often known as the ‘Defender Circle’ to deepen consciousness and enhance interplay with potential contributors.
He defined that the initiative was designed to deploy community-based representatives inside markets to teach merchants and different casual sector employees, facilitate onboarding and tackle questions regarding pension participation.
The representatives, he mentioned, would function a direct hyperlink between pension operators and communities, serving to to bridge the knowledge hole that has continued to restrict participation in contributory pension preparations.
Andrews, nonetheless, recognized public consciousness and monetary schooling as main obstacles confronting the growth of the scheme, arguing that the trade had made appreciable progress in constructing the infrastructure for pension entry however had but to realize corresponding ranges of public engagement.
According to him, the problem now could be to generate adequate consciousness to make sure that Nigerians, notably these within the casual sector, perceive the provision and advantages of the scheme.
He referred to as for stronger collaboration amongst pension operators, regulators, the media and different stakeholders to accentuate public enlightenment and encourage wider participation.
Andrews additionally welcomed the introduction of the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG), describing the initiative as a big growth in efforts to strengthen retirement safety and shield susceptible pensioners.
He mentioned the assure might assist tackle poverty amongst retirees by offering a measure of earnings safety for these whose retirement financial savings is likely to be inadequate to help a good normal of residing.
According to him, the importance of the initiative prolonged past the pension trade, given its potential contribution to broader social safety and poverty discount goals.
He famous that guaranteeing a minimal stage of retirement earnings would assist scale back the vulnerability of aged Nigerians, notably those that had spent their working years in low-income employment.
Andrews mentioned Awabah was ready to deepen its collaboration with trade stakeholders to make sure that the advantages of pension reforms translated into wider protection and improved retirement outcomes.
He maintained that increasing pension participation required a mix of accessible digital infrastructure, efficient grassroots distribution and sustained public enlightenment.
The casual sector stays a essential frontier for pension inclusion in Nigeria, given the big proportion of the nation’s workforce working outdoors standard employer-employee preparations.
