Post-Retirement Life Styles Of Some Nigerians And The Counselling Implications
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
Post-Retirement Life Styles Of Some Nigerians And The Counselling Implications
Introduction
Retirement is a significant milestone in a worker’s life, recognized as a crucial phase in human development worldwide. Those who plan their retirement well in advance tend to adjust better, often experiencing it as a honeymoon phase filled with activity or as a period of rest and relaxation, recovering from the stresses of employment (Odu, 1998; Dada & Idowu, 2010).
Belsky (1990) describes retirement as a transition from the demands of the working world to a phase of less intensive work and more rest, particularly when retirement is due to old age or extended years of service.
In Nigeria, public service employees are mandated to retire at either the age of sixty or after thirty-five years of pensionable service, whichever comes first (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2008).
However, not all retirements are due to age or length of service; some are the result of cost-cutting measures in both the public and private sectors, as well as political factors (Adeoye & Legbara, 1997).
Every day, thousands of Nigerians enter retirement. For those approaching this stage, numerous concerns arise. The challenges and opportunities associated with a fulfilling retirement vary from person to person.
Retirement anxiety affects millions of Nigerians annually, with worries such as: What will I do with my time? How do I define myself now that I am no longer a physician, teacher, or manager?
Do I have enough financial security to sustain my lifestyle in retirement? Have I saved adequately? Will I need to drastically reduce my spending? Can I rely on my national health insurance provider for Medicare? Can I trust my pension administrator or the government to pay my gratuity and pension?
Current workers are not immune to these uncertainties. Their monthly salaries often barely cover basic needs. They have families to support, including providing food, education for their children, and securing housing.
These workers, like the rest of society, are well aware of the troubling news: pensioners dying while waiting in line to be screened for gratuity and pension payments, retirees waiting years for their pensions to be processed, fraud by government officials and pension administrators, pensioners owed over two years of arrears, and even threats of suicide from desperate retirees.
A notable example is Mr. Amadi Dennis, a retired civil servant from Edo State, who threatened to commit suicide on February 14, 2014, due to the government’s failure to pay his gratuity and pension.
He only reconsidered after pleas from prominent Nigerians and friends. Such situations are more than enough to trigger retirement anxiety among workers.
The root causes of retirement anxiety include irregular payment of pensions and gratuities, fear of financial insecurity based on the experiences of past retirees, inadequate retirement planning, lack of business and vocational skills, insufficient personal development, and a lack of funds to start a business before or after retirement.
Additionally, delays in processing pension claims contribute to the anxiety (Brandon, 2011). In response, some workers resort to measures to remain employed or continue working even after retirement (Brandon, 2011).
This could explain why some employees falsify records or alter their age to stay in service past retirement age. It is not surprising, then, that septuagenarians and octogenarians can still be found in public and private sectors when they should be enjoying retirement.
The actions and inactions of the government and retirement service administrators, coupled with the challenges faced by workers, understandably provoke anxiety, especially for those yet to retire.
Thus, it is essential to thoroughly examine retirement anxiety and propose counseling interventions to help manage it among workers. This paper will explore the concept of retirement anxiety, its nature, causes, and effects on workers, and suggest counseling interventions to address these issues.
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic