By Oluwakemi Kindness
President Bola Tinubu has urged pension fund managers to improve investment returns and reduce management costs, warning that returns below inflation could erode workers’ retirement savings.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, spoke on Thursday, at the inaugural National Pension Week Leadership Summit in Abuja.
He urged Pension Fund Administrators and pension fund custodians to diversify investments responsibly, strengthen their expertise and focus on the benefits contributors receive.
The President said pension funds should support national development without exposing retirees’ savings to undue risks.
He also announced that the government had approved a 758-billion-naira pension bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund.
Tinubu said the government would also implement the Minimum Pension Guarantee provision of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which he said had remained unfulfilled since the law was enacted.
He further unveiled PenCare, a national retiree wellbeing programme that will initially provide low-income retirees with access to essential healthcare.
The President urged employers in the public and private sectors to remit pension contributions promptly, warning that deducting workers’ contributions without transferring the funds was a breach of trust.
He also called for wider pension coverage among traders, artisans, farmers, transport workers and self-employed Nigerians through the Personal Pension Plan and other distribution channels.
Tinubu urged the National Pension Commission, state governments, organised labour and other stakeholders to strengthen compliance and expand coverage, saying the system should be judged by the financial security and dignity it provides retirees.
Edited by Julian Osamoto
