By Aliu S. Momodu
Nigeria’s retirees who have given decades of loyal service to our country are facing a disturbing and inhumane reality. After years of hard work, their reward is uncertainty, poverty, and outright neglect. This exploitation, largely orchestrated by pension administrators and worsened by government insouciance, has become a national scandal, with real-life consequences for thousands of elderly citizens.
Shocking Stories of Neglect.
From Anambra to Kaduna, the voices of Nigerian retirees echo a familiar pattern of despair and melancholy. Many wait months or even years to receive their deserved pension payments. Some, like Julius Okafor and Dr Mathew Odono, wait as long as two years after retirement. They survive only by the generosity of family and friends. It’s common to hear about pensioners, after 35 years of service, living “from hand to mouth,” and struggling to afford life-sustaining medicine and daily essentials.
Lilian Aderoju, a widow who worked for over 35 years in Abuja, watched her hopes dashed as she waited endlessly for her pension. The government owes retirees billions in backlog, with accumulated pension rights unpaid for months on end. According to PenCom, while some funds have been disbursed to a fraction of retirees, many remain completely unpaid, and forced to beg for money from their children or relatives just to survive.
The Pension Administrators’ Shameful Role
One of the greatest sources of pain is the pension administrators’ abominable performance. Retirees hand over their pension savings, and entrust their future to these organizations, only to face endless bureaucracy, little transparency, and no accountability.
Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) regularly delay payments, giving retirees no good reason and often failing to communicate at all. The government’s slow remittance of funds to these PFAs is cited as a main cause, yet PFAs benefit financially throughout the process, making profits from workers’ contributions while giving little consideration to post-retirement hardship.
Civil society organizations have rightly called the scheme “exploitative,” with retirees forced to wait up to 15 months for their first payment, despite filling endless forms and submitting all required documents. Pensioners see their hard-earned savings withheld, while administrators continue to profit.
The Human Cost: Poverty, Pressure, and Pain
The consequences are both immediate and severe:
Retirees cannot afford basic healthcare, leaving them at high risk of preventable illnesses. Many lose the ability to pay rent, school fees, or even buy food. The rising cost of living and hyperinflation hit pensioners hardest, leaving their small, delayed payments almost worthless. Some pensioners have died before ever receiving a single naira of their retirement benefit.
Comparing With Developed Countries
Contrast this with developed countries, where pension systems put retirees first:
1) In the UK and US, retirees begin receiving their benefits almost immediately upon leaving service.
2) Pension agencies communicate clearly, payments are predictable and regular, and retirees have legal recourse for any breaches.
3) There is robust government oversight—pension administrators are held accountable for every delay or error.
4) Pensioners are protected by strong social safety nets and regular cost-of-living adjustments.
Recommendations For Addressing Nigeria’s Pension Crisis
Nigeria must learn from the developed climes and urgently take steps which include the following:
1) Having an immediate payment system which mandates that retirees receive their lump sum and begin to receive monthly pensions within one month of retirement. There should be no excuses. Governments should fund pension accounts before retirement, not after.
2) Overhaul Pension Administrators by replacing inept PFAs and introducing strict audits. Make PFAs publicly report payment timelines and penalize delays.
3) There is need for direct government oversight: Set up a special board under the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) which is dedicated to tracking payments and resolving disputes. Providing a hotline for pensioners in distress would help.
4) Transparent communication system in which PFAs must notify retirees of every step, explaining reasons for any delays, and providing guaranteed minimum payment dates is essential.
5) Educate and empower workers by offering investment training for employees to prepare them for life after service. Encourage them to plan early.
6) Provide legal protection to make pension delays punishable, including compensation for affected retirees.
7) Make cost-of-living adjustments to make pensions rise with inflation, just as salaries do, so retirees don’t fall deeper into poverty.
8) There is need to learn from abroad so that like other countries, Nigeria can prioritize retirees in its national budget, create fallback social programs, and make pension funds truly secure.
Nigeria’s retirees deserve better. Retirees are not beggars. They are national heroes who built the foundation of our society. Ignoring their plight is both abominable and unsustainable. The time to act is NOW – overhaul the system, shame the exploiters, and restore dignity to those who served our nation.
Aliu S. Momodu is a professional Quantity Surveyor with over two and a half decades of project management experience. He has construction cost expertise, which cuts across contracting, consultancy, and the civil service. He is currently undergoing a PhD degree in Quantity Surveying. Contacts: aliushafal@gmail.com
