The National Pension Commission has announced that free health insurance for pensioners will begin later this year, starting with retirees in lower-income categories.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja, Omolola Oloworaran, Director General of PenCom, described the initiative as a landmark achievement in Nigeria’s social protection landscape.
She said PenCare represents a significant step toward a pension system that not only secures workers’ financial future but also safeguards their health and dignity in retirement.
“Free health insurance for retirees will begin later this year, starting with pensioners in lower-income categories, ensuring dignity and security beyond financial pensions,” she said.
According to her, over 20,000 retirees are expected to benefit from the first phase of the programme, which will later be expanded nationwide.
“We are inaugurating hope and setting in motion a new chapter in Nigeria’s journey toward inclusive, compassionate, and globally competitive social security.
“The PenCare Initiative represents a visionary partnership between the National Pension Commission and Licensed Pension Operators, a union of expertise, compassion, and responsibility,” Oloworaran added.
She added that the initiative aligns with the policy direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration has consistently emphasised the need to strengthen social protection systems and improve the quality of life for senior citizens.
The PenCom boss noted that PenCare is designed as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) collaboration between the commission and licensed pension operators, with the official launch by President Tinubu scheduled for later in November.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Mr Ekpo Nta, who was represented by the Head of Compensation, Akin Abe, said pension remained a vital pillar of financial security and national productivity.
He explained that a pension provided “a regular income received by a person at retirement when he or she has stopped working because of age or other conditions, to cater for needs at old age.”
Nta recalled that Nigeria’s first pension scheme was introduced in 1951 under the Pension Ordinance to cater for civil servants, describing it as “a defined benefit scheme” that lasted until 2004 when the Pension Reform Act introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Ekpo Nta, the Director-General of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, represented by the Head of Compensation, said government reforms had improved pension administration, ensuring prompt payment to retirees in the country.
The workshop was jointly organised by PenCom and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, and it drew participants from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), pension operators, and representatives from key government institutions, including the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Federation.
