By Oluwakemi Kindness
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday launched a free healthcare initiative for low-income retirees, with an initial target of 30,000 beneficiaries under the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PENCARE.
The initiative, funded by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Pension Fund Operators, is designed to provide eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) with access to basic healthcare services at no cost.
Tinubu who was represented by the President of the senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the initiative on Tuesday at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony in Abuja, saying it would protect retirees from exhausting their pension savings on medical expenses.
He said the first PENCARE health access cards would be issued to pensioners and beneficiaries in the coming months.
Tinubu said the scheme is part of efforts to strengthen social security and ensure that Nigerians who spent their working years serving the country could access healthcare without additional financial hardship.
He said a pension that could not provide for retirees’ medical needs was inadequate, noting that one illness in old age could consume decades of retirement savings.
The President urged employers in the public and private sectors to remit workers’ pension contributions, warning that withholding the funds would undermine their financial security in retirement.
However, PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, said the initiative has already undergone pilot testing, with some retirees receiving healthcare cards.
She said retirees who have not received their cards could request them through their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
Participation is voluntary, while eligible retirees will be enrolled through approved Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs).
The first phase is expected to cover 30,000 retirees, with selection based on equitable representation across Pension Fund Administrators and a first-come, first-served arrangement, subject to eligibility requirements.
PenCom said the programme would provide basic primary healthcare support, although it has not publicly detailed the full list of medical services covered under the scheme.
The Commission and pension operators have committed more than N7 billion to the initiative, with insurance premiums already paid to cover nearly 30,000 retirees.
