Life after service is lonely, pension not assured, retirees tell civil servants 

Retired civil servants, otherwise known as ‘senior citizens,’ are advising workers still in service to start preparing for retirement immediately upon receiving their appointment from the government.

Some of them have lamented the struggle after leaving the service, and some believe that the contributory pension scheme should be stopped so they can focus on their savings while working.

Mrs. Fadekemi Temitope, 68, a widow and a mother of three, retired from service five years ago after spending her entire adult life working in the civil service. She feels she wasted her life in Nigeria.

“I wish I knew the ending before I started,” lamented Fadekemi.

Meanwhile, for Jimoh Raheem Abiodun, who retired in 2021 after working in the civil service in Lagos State for 30 years, the situation is slightly different: not regretful, but hopeful.

“The contributory pension is not worth it judging by today’s reality, though I did not regret my time in the service, things have not been the same,” he said.

For Fadekemi, Jimoh, and hundreds of retirees from Government Treasury-Funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) who retired between 2020 and now, it has been painful and agonizing.

The pension system in Nigeria presently functions through the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Under this system, the management of pension funds is entrusted solely to licensed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), while the safekeeping of pension assets in trust for contributors is the responsibility of Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs).

The Pension Reform Act (PRA 2004) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (referred to as “the Scheme”) speaks to the payment of retirement benefits to employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, to whom the Scheme applies under this Act. The question is: Is retirement joyful for some of these senior citizens?

PENCOM experts’ narrations

A National Pension Commission (PENCOM) analyst with over nine years of experience who requested anonymity, told The Guardian that many retired civil servants are unable to get their pensions on time after retirement for three major reasons: failure to document their details appropriately while in service, the government’s inability to pay them all due to the ‘No money syndrome,’ and human error factors, especially from some PENCOM officials.

“Since the implementation of this new pension scheme in 2004, many people who worked with the federal government before the implementation were moved, and their documentation processes started again. Rather than continue their payments from the inception of their employment, they did not do that because they can’t pay for everybody, so it was done in batches,” he said.

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“Human error is one of the reasons why many retired people don’t get their pensions; some documents have been misplaced, and once a document is not found, the payment of such an individual can’t be processed.”

He disclosed the reasons some workers get their pensions quickly compared to others. He said those under the Treasury-funded scheme, for example, don’t generate income for the federal government.

He argued that universities or staff of civil defense, like the police, do not generate much for the coffers of the government; rather, they rely heavily on the government for their retirement, unlike the self-funded scheme.

Regrets?

While some expressed that there were no regrets about joining the service, others felt their time was wasted, advising those in service to start saving for retirement from the first day of joining.

The PENCOM expert analysis aligns with Mr. Jimoh’s view: he believes the money is not worth anything, approximately N150,000 depending on the grade level; some even earn as little as N40,000 in this current administration, lamenting that the money does not sustain anyone.

“This contributory pension scheme does not favor workers at all; the idea of having to wait for three to four years is not it at all. Some of my colleagues have died, and some are begging, but hopefully, the Lagos State government will listen to us,” Mr. Jimoh said.

Mr. Jimoh believes that this is the reason why the police, for instance, have decided to leave the contributory pension scheme. Their pay is not enough, and then the deductions in the name of PENSION are also not assured.

Mrs. Sanni,  believes the best way to plan for retirement is to start planning on the first day you start your work.

“I think life after service is interesting. One important thing is to quickly have children so you won’t spend your savings on liabilities again,” she said.

Like Mrs. Sanni, another senior citizen, Mrs. Popo, believes her time in service has been beautiful, and she intentionally planned for her retirement.

“I am still processing my retirement savings; they have not called us. And for retirement, I am lying down, with full data on my phone. What I did before retirement is to safe, and by the grace of God, my children are helping me. They give me the salary I usually received while I was in service. Honestly, life is easy for me. Honestly, it is now that I am enjoying life.”

Mrs. Popo’s only challenge as a retired person is the loneliness that comes with knowing there is no place to go again.

“Many people have died because of this issue. We receive calls every day, and seriously, the government needs to do more concerning retired civil servants. They are suffering. Do you know, since Tinubu became president, many people have called us that they have not received payment?” the PENCOM analyst concluded.

Light at tunnel’s end?

Recently, the federal pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme wrote to the coordinating Minister of Finance and National Economy, Wale Edun, on the need for the government to release the accrued gratuities owed to pensioners from March 2023 to November 2024.

The pensioners are demanding the immediate release of the outstanding 21 months of accrued rights to retired public workers from March 2023 to November 2024.

They are also seeking payment of unpaid pension increments, including a 15 per cent increase in 2007, a 33 per cent increase in 2010, and a 20 – 28 per cent increase in 2024.

Meanwhile, acting director-general of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, said concerted efforts had reached an advanced stage and are expected to lead to lasting solutions that will resolve the challenges of inadequate funding and delayed fund releases for retirees’ accrued pension rights.