PenCom raises PenCare eligibility to N150,000, eyes mortgage access for retirees

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has raised the income eligibility threshold for its PenCare Initiative from N70,000 to N150,000 monthly pension, as it seeks to accelerate enrolment into the healthcare scheme for retirees while finalising regulations that will enable eligible pensioners to access residential mortgages using their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balances.

Omolola Oloworaran, director-general of PenCom, announced the measures on Tuesday in Abuja at the third Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) meeting and press conference, describing them as part of broader reforms aimed at improving retirement outcomes and expanding social protection for pensioners.

According to her, the revised income threshold is intended to increase participation in the PenCare pilot programme, which currently has about 13,000 enrollees against a target of 30,000 needed to adequately test the initiative before a nationwide rollout.

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“We have now increased the pension income level to N150,000 so everybody that earns a pension of N150,000 and below can come on board the PenCare initiative and be entitled to free healthcare,” Oloworaran said.

She explained that the higher eligibility limit is a temporary measure designed to achieve the critical mass required for the pilot phase and may be reviewed once the programme is fully operational.

“The reason we’re doing this is because it’s the pilot stage. We need a lot of people on board so that we can properly test the system,” she added.

The PenCare Initiative is designed to provide healthcare support for retirees, reducing the financial burden of medical expenses after retirement. PenCom plans to introduce three categories under the scheme when it is fully implemented.

The first category will provide free healthcare for low-income pensioners, while the second will operate a co-payment model for retirees who require partial support with healthcare costs. The third will cater to higher-income retirees who will pay for enhanced healthcare coverage at negotiated premium rates.

Oloworaran urged the media and industry stakeholders to help increase awareness of the initiative, noting that limited public knowledge remains one of the biggest challenges affecting enrolment.

“We need to spread the message to ordinary Nigerians because many eligible retirees are simply not aware of the programme,” she said.

Beyond healthcare support, the PenCom boss disclosed that the commission is also finalising regulations that will allow eligible retirees to access residential mortgage facilities using their Retirement Savings Account balances.

Although she did not provide a timeline for implementation, Oloworaran said the framework was nearing completion and would be unveiled soon.

“We’re working on the regulation, and that should come out soon. Very soon, retirees whose RSA balances qualify will be able to take advantage of residential mortgage facilities,” she said.

She also revealed that PenCom is reviewing the Pension Reform Act to modernise Nigeria’s pension framework and address implementation gaps that have emerged since the legislation came into force.

According to her, the proposed amendments are intended to align the law with current realities in the pension industry while accommodating new reforms designed to improve retirement security for Nigerians.

“The whole essence of the review is to modernise the Act and ensure that it reflects today’s realities. We have identified implementation gaps that we intend to correct, but consultations with key stakeholders are still ongoing,” Oloworaran said.

She added that discussions on the proposed amendments involve major stakeholders, including employers’ organisations and labour unions, before the bill is presented for legislative consideration.

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The latest reforms come as PenCom continues to pursue initiatives aimed at strengthening retirement income, improving pension inclusion and enhancing social protection for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.