The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has increased the income threshold for retirees eligible for its PenCare health insurance pilot programme from ₦70,000 to ₦150,000 monthly, allowing more pensioners to benefit from free healthcare.
The announcement was made by PenCom Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, after the third Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) meeting held in Abuja.
According to Oloworaran, the decision is aimed at increasing participation in the pilot programme and gathering enough data to properly assess its effectiveness.
She explained that although the initiative is designed to cover 30,000 retirees, only about 13,000 have enrolled so far.
“We need a critical mass to properly test the system. Running a pilot with just 10,000 people will not give us the results we want,” she said.
Under the revised guideline, retirees receiving monthly pensions of ₦150,000 or less can now enrol and enjoy free health insurance through the PenCare pilot scheme.
Oloworaran clarified that the new income limit is only temporary and may be reviewed after the pilot phase.
“That we have extended it to ₦150,000 does not mean it will remain there. It is to help us test the system effectively,” she said.
She also disclosed that PenCom plans to introduce three healthcare packages after the pilot programme.
According to her, the first package will provide free healthcare for low-income retirees, the second will offer a co-payment option for retirees requiring additional support, while the third will allow higher-income pensioners to purchase enhanced health insurance at competitive rates.
Beyond healthcare, Oloworaran revealed that the proposed Pension Industry Infrastructure Fund has entered an advanced stage of implementation.
She said pension fund administrators (PFAs) are expected to take a final position on the initiative within the next one to two months.
The PenCom boss also announced that the commission will hold its first National Pension Week from September 15 to 19 to improve pension awareness and financial literacy among Nigerians.
She added that PenCom is strengthening enforcement against employers who fail to remit pension contributions and is working with agencies including the ICPC, with plans to collaborate with the EFCC.
Oloworaran further noted that only eight states currently operate the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), while efforts are ongoing to encourage more states to adopt it.
