CORRUPTION IN PENSION FUNDS ADMINISTRATION AND THE PARADOX OF RETIREMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Retirement is said to be a time for rest after much labour in the civil service.  This seems paradoxical in the Nigerian context as pensioners labour more (instead of resting) to get their pensions. Pensions are not paid as and when due, at times for years. The scenario leaves many retired civil servants in abject poverty, frustration, depression, and ill-health that sometimes lead to the death of some of them as they await their entitlements. This paper examined the meaning of retirement, various classifications of retirement, legal and regulatory framework on pension administration in Nigeria and the challenges of pension funds administration such as corruption. The paper concluded paradoxically that retirement in Nigeria has become a time of unrest; the beginning of over labour! Among the several suggestions made was that Government should prevail on the private managers of the extant pension scheme to ensure that retirees are paid their retirement benefits as and when due. They should desist from the practice of over-delaying pensioners’ benefits because of their pecuniary gains. 

Key Words: Retirement, retirees, corruption, pension funds administration, paradox