An Assessment Of Retirement Benefits Administration In Nigeria

An Assessment Of Retirement Benefits Administration In Nigeria

Abstract

This exploration presents the results of the assessment of withdrawal benefit administration in Lagos state. The population for the study consists of 100 pensioner which were aimlessly named, Data were gathered using a tone- constructed questionnaire and the result gotten was anatomized using the simple chance system. The validity and trustability of instrument were caught on . Data anatomized from the exploration shows Lagos state has a good administration for the claiming of withdrawal benefit i.e. that retiree in Lagos state are enjoying their withdrawal life more that those in other state, thus the study recommends that government needs to enlighten the public on the significance of planning towards withdrawal and the contributory pension scheme, this will go a long way to reduce the stress of having to manage with life after withdrawal.

Chapter One

Preface

Background of the Study

Retirement is a phase of life that every hand must reach whether prepared for or not. It’s the point in time when an hand chooses to leave his or her employment permanently( which could be voluntary or involuntary), and generally coincides with the hand’s eligibility to collect withdrawal coffers ranging from social security to company pensions, etc. It’s an ineluctable stage in someone’s life be it in the private or public service, it’s a period in time whereby one’s trouble in an association and part as a paid worker ceases,( Agoro, 2009; Ahmed, 2007; Bassey & Asinya, 2008).

This can be as a result of ill health, age or statutorily completing the number of times. With the reform of the civil service decreeNo. 43 of 1988, withdrawal age has been put at 60 times or 35 times in service. Whichever comes first, there arises the need to precisely and adequately manage these orders of workers who had given utmost of their life, time and sweats to the fruition of organizational growth and its development. therefore, it presents a worse situation when the retiree isn’t adequately set to face this ultimate phase of life. This among others have needed the need for a pension administration in order to feed for unborn liabilities of these orders of workers and to enable them have a analogous and reasonable standard of living prior to what obtains while they were in active service. In utmost developing countries with Nigeria particularly, government circumscribe working age of public civil retainers to help an geriatric labor force and allowing entrants of youthful suitable- bodied labour for adding effectiveness and productivity,( Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 2004). This is important because as an hand becomes aged, his Borderline Physical Productivity of Labour( MPPL) will decline, therefore retaining such an hand in the service of the association will lead to running an association at a loss. Hence, why the statutory working age in the public service is fixed at sixty( 60) times or thirty- five( 35) times of unbroken active working service before withdrawal, but the Retirement Age Harmonization Act of 2012 prints the withdrawal age of judicial officers and academic staff of tertiary institutions at 70 and 65 times independently because of the belief that “ the aged, the wiser ”( Maji, 2014). During withdrawal, a retiree public officer generally receives certain benefits in the form of gratuity and pension. Gratuity is the sum total lump paid to a worker on being from the service either through pullout or withdrawal, while pension is the sum of subvention paid periodically, generally yearly to a public menial who disengages from service after attaining a specified age limit generally 60 times or 35 times of active service,( Ezeani, 2001 Ebosele, 2001). In other words, gratuity and pension arepost-employment benefits. These benefits are designed to help a unforeseen sharp drop in the fiscal capacity and living standard of the worker as would be with the cessation of his yearly payment and allowances after advancement. The lump sum or gratuity he’s paid is meant to enable the retiree finance anypost-retirement bid of his choice while the pension replaces the yearly payment the retiree gets while he was still in active serve,( Babasola, 2000). In this way, the retiree having spent a substantial part of his productive life working to earn a living, can in his old age( that is, at withdrawal) sustain and maintain a standard of living similar to what he was used to while in active service. It’s grounded on this that most progressive government legislate laws to back up their programs on employment, withdrawal and pension in both the public and private sectors of the frugality. To Casey( 2011) and Taiwo( 2014), pensions as a form of social security against old- age poverty and other misgivings have attracted great interest nearly far and wide in the world, both in developed, developing and under- developed countries. Pension programs, especially those that are intimately financed and administered, have come an issue of concern to economists, policymakers and the general public. This isn’t only because similar programs are central to the well- being of pensioners and the senior, but also because the maturity of pension programs aren’t actuarially balanced( that is they aren’t financially stable) and as similar, they’re run at poverties, therefore making the present values of their unborn arrears to be enormous. In some countries, especially those that are economically advanced, pensions are generally extended to other orders of people piecemeal from retirees, similar as widows, orphans, impaired people( in the form of disability pensions), and the senior or the aged.

Statement of the Problem

A major problem of the pension fund administration in Nigeria was the remitment or detention in the payment of pension and gratuity by the Federal and State governments. For case, the pension backlog was put at about N2.56 trillion as at December, 2005. In fact, pension fund administration came a thorny issue with millions of retired Nigerian workers living in menial poverty and they were frequently neglected and not duly feed for after withdrawal( Orifowomo, 2006). sorely, retirees went through tough times and rigorous processes before they were ultimately paid their pensions, gratuity and other withdrawal benefits. At one time the plutocrat to pay their benefits isn’t available; and at another time, the Pension Fund directors weren’t there to meet the retirees ’ needs. principally, the old scheme has been beset with a lot of challenges and problems. Besides the forenamed; other problems were demographic challenges and backing of outstanding pensions and gratuities, incorporating of service for the purpose of calculating withdrawal benefits. These problems coupled with the executive backups, bureaucracies, loose tendencies and inefficiencies of the civil service, and the profitable downturn have redounded in erratic and the remitment of terminal benefits as at when due( Orifowomo, 2006; Ezeala, 2007, Abade, 2004)

ideal of the Study

The main ideal of the study is to assess the withdrawal benefit administration and the effect it has on retirees in Nigeria; specifically the study intends to;

1. To find out the effect of withdrawal benefit on the socio profitable life of retirees in Lagos state

2. To probe the problem associated with the withdrawal benefit administration in Lagos

3. To proffer result to the problems of withdrawal benefit collection in Lagos state

Exploration Questions

1. What’s the effect of withdrawal benefit on the socio profitable life of retirees in Lagos state?

2. What are the problem associated with the withdrawal benefit administration in Lagos state?

3. What’s the impact of withdrawal on the social status of retired civil retainers

4. What result can be proffered to the problems of withdrawal benefit collection in Lagos state?

Significance of the study

The study could be of benefit to civil retainers in Nigeria; it could inform them on the avoidable risks of their forerunners. either, the knowledge from the study could spark a more innovative, careful, and prudent life in civil retainers while in service, in medication for theirpost-retirement times. likewise, recently employed individualities both in the public and private sectors could garner information from the findings of the study on the factual mechanisms of the current Nigerian pension scheme. This could help them begin planning for withdrawal and old age beforehand in their working times. The study could be an eye nature to government at all situations and those ladened with the task of employment, withdrawal and old age policy making in the country. A considerable number of Nigerians are government workers. This calls for better and informed policy timber, well enforced to guard people in their old age. Since it’s insolvable not to have retirees and 8 old folks in society, planning rightly and adequately for their requirements can not beover-emphasized as part of plans towards sustainable development in the country. therefore, the findings from the study are able of aiding lawgivers make programs that could address the plights of and appreciatively impact the aged and sheltered individualities in Nigeria. Knowledge- grounded policy perpetration especially in reforming the contributory pension scheme to be more visionary, is another pivotal end the study could help achieve.

Compass of the Study

The study is limited to retired civil retainers between the periods of 60 and 80, who had worked and are living in Lagos States. Retirees within this age type would have had palpable gests of the transitional phase between work and withdrawal. Civil retainers who retired in the last 6 months were barred from the study. This is because they might not have had sufficient transitional gests needed to give acceptable information needed by the study. Actors could be civil, state or Original Government Areas retirees.

Limitation of the Study

The challenge of finance for the general exploration work will be a challenge during the course of study. still, it’s believed that these constraints will be worked on by making the stylish use of the available accoutrements and spending further than the necessary time in the exploration work. thus, it’s explosively believed that despite these constraint, its effect on this exploration report will be minimum, therefore, making the ideal and significance of the study attainable.