August 2025
27Aug

Nigeria’s wage and pension crisis

By Shu’aibu Usman Leman   Earlier this month, the United States government released a sobering assessment of Nigeria’s human rights record in its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Among the stark revelations was the shamefully low national minimum wage of ₦70,000—a figure described as “woefully inadequate” amid rising inflation, a weakened naira, and an ever-worsening cost of living. At just $47.90 per month by current exchange rates, this wage is not merely insufficient—it is an affront to human dignity. In...

August 27, 2025
News, OP Ed, Op-Ed, ,
Read more...
07Aug

Nigeria’s president orders speedy rollout of free healthcare for low-income retirees

President Bola Tinubu has directed the expedited rollout of a free healthcare initiative for low-income retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), describing the measure as essential to ensuring dignity and social protection in retirement. The President also ordered the prompt implementation of long-overdue pension increases and the establishment of a minimum pension guarantee to serve as a safety net for the most vulnerable pensioners within the CPS. The directives followed a briefing from the Director General of the National Pension...

August 7, 2025
News,
Read more...

July 2025
21Jul

Nigeria. IG orders security as retired cops plan pension protests

Retired police officers have reaffirmed their commitment to embark on a nationwide protest today, July 21, 2025, insisting that their action is devoid of any political agenda and solely focused on pressing for their exit from the pension scheme. The development comes as the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, pledged to provide security coverage for the retirees and ensure the protest remains peaceful. He warned against any attempts by political actors or miscreants to hijack the demonstration. Speaking ahead of what they...

July 21, 2025
News,
Read more...

June 2025
30Jun

Nigeria. Workers’ financial insecurity deepens amid violation of Pension law

Under the Pension Reform Act, any company in Nigeria with three or more employees must participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme. While the employees contribute eight per cent of their monthly salary, the employers add 10 per cent or optionally cover full by contributing 20 per cent of the employee’s salary, with the monthly remittances routed to a Pension Fund Administrator. However, many micro and small enterprises ignore this legal requirement, which has resulted in low compliance with many...

June 30, 2025
News,
Read more...
16Jun

Nigeria. ESG reform will reshape pension industry – PenOp

The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Oguche Agudah, has said that the standardisation of Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting would be a game-changer for the pension industry. Agudah said this at the High-Level Roundtable in Lagos, a pre-event of the 2025 Africa Impact Summit Study Tour in Nigeria, convened by the Impact Investors Foundation, Impact Investing Ghana, GSG Impact, Alitheia Capital, and Kuramo Capital. The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria is the trade association...

June 16, 2025
News, ,
Read more...
03Jun

Nigeria. PTAD explores health insurance expansion for pensioners

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate has sought to expand the pilot phase of its collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority to enable more pensioners to benefit from health insurance coverage. This was indicated in a statement following a recent visit by the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Tolulope Odunaiya, to the office of the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri. In 2023, PTAD and NHIA entered into a collaboration to provide health insurance coverage for pensioners under...

June 3, 2025
News,
Read more...

May 2025
13May

Pension Gaps and Inflation: The struggle for a secure Nigerian retirement

Across the African continent, the aspiration for a peaceful and financially secure retirement has remained a common dream for generations. For many today, particularly in Nigeria that vision is becoming increasingly difficult to attain. The harsh realities of the current economic landscape, defined by soaring inflation, a continually rising cost of living, and limited access to pension schemes for millions of workers, especially those in the informal sector, have made retirement planning more complex and uncertain than ever. In Nigeria, as...

May 13, 2025
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
08May

Nigeria. PenCom DG laments negative growth in pension industry

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, has lamented the negative growth recorded in the pension industry since 2021. Oloworaran expressed this concern on Thursday at the 2025 Pension Industry Leadership Retreat organised under the theme, ‘Sustainable Retirement – Strategic Blueprint for Economic Development and Inclusion.’ The Pension Reform Act 2004 empowers PenCom to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria. The functions of the Commission include: Regulation and supervision of the Contributory Pension...

May 8, 2025
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

April 2025
29Apr

US. Benefits Cuts on the Table in House Budget Legislation

Cuts to federal employees’ benefits are being pitched in budget legislation scheduled to be marked up in the House of Representatives this week. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced that the Committee will mark up budget legislation on Wednesday, April 30 at 10:00 AM ET as part of the Trump administration’s plan to reduce federal spending to combat the growing debt which currently stands at about $36 trillion. Items Under Consideration The items to be considered would have...

April 29, 2025
News, Slider,
Read more...
28Apr

Nigeria. PenCom to recover unpaid pensions from power firms

The National Pension Commission has intensified efforts to recover unpaid pension contributions from electricity generation and distribution companies across the country. In a statement made available to our correspondent on Sunday, PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission recently, led a delegation to seek NERC’s intervention in enforcing compliance among erring power companies. According to Oloworaran, at least 16 power generation and distribution companies have failed to remit billions of naira...

April 28, 2025
News, Slider,
Read more...