Harmonising Nigeria’s Public Service Retirement Age Discrepancies

By Mark Longyen, Nigerian News Agency (NAN)

Mr David Adebayo and Ms. Ngozi Chinedu were two hardworking Nigerians who pursued different career paths.

Adebayo, a senior administrative officer in the public sector, has dedicated his life to the civil service.

According to government regulations, he retired at the age of 60, after 35 years of service.

Chinedu, a senior marketing executive at a multinational corporation, worked until she was 65, enjoying the stability and benefits of her private sector job.

Adebayo faced several challenges following his retirement. His pension, which was frequently delayed and not adjusted for inflation, was insufficient to provide a comfortable retirement.

After losing his employer-sponsored health insurance, he was forced to rely on the National Health Insurance Scheme, which only covered his basic healthcare needs.

His well-being suffered as a result of insufficient leisure time during his service years, post-retirement financial strain, and inadequate healthcare support.

Chinedu’s experience was, however, very different. Working until 65 allowed her to build a larger pension fund, ensuring her financial security in retirement.

Her private health insurance provided comprehensive coverage throughout her retirement years.

The longer work period also resulted in a better work-life balance and job satisfaction, as evidenced by professional development and substantial earnings.

Adebayo and Chinedu’s lives diverged even more after they retired.

Without a solid post-retirement plan, Adebayo experienced social isolation and mental health issues.

Chinedu maintained her professional network and participated in community activities, which gave her a sense of purpose and fulfilment.

This narrative depicts the effects of retirement age disparities in Nigeria.

It emphasises stakeholders’ unwavering call for the federal government to respond to the demand for a review and harmonisation of the retirement age for all public employees.

Many public analysts believe that harmonising Nigeria’s retirement age disparities, which include variations in retirement ages across all sectors of the country, is long overdue.

According to them, inconsistent policies that result in retirement age disparities in the workforce are discriminatory, counterproductive, and morale-killing.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for example, has consistently demanded that the retirement age and length of service in the entire public sector be raised to 65 years of age and 40 years of service, respectively.

Reinforcing this point, NLC President Joe Ajaero reiterated during the 2023 and 2024 May Day celebrations that organised labour was steadfast in its demand for an increase and harmonisation of public servant retirement ages.

He stated that increasing years of service should be done uniformly across all sectors, rather than selectively in favour of a few sectors of the country’s public service.

“Only a few institutions, including the core civil service, are now exempt.

“We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the core civil service, be increased to 65 years of age and 40 years of service,” Ajaero stated.

Concurring with Ajaero, the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), an NGO dedicated to strengthening democratic governance in Nigeria, has also called for an immediate increase in the retirement age of civil servants.

PLAC argued that this would facilitate an efficient pension administration process for the benefit of core civil servants, whether they are judicial officers such as retired judges or public servants in any sector.

PLAC argued that this would facilitate an efficient pension administration process for the benefit of core civil servants, whether they are judicial officers such as retired judges or public servants in any sector.

The former President also signed legislation in 2022 raising the retirement age for primary school teachers to 65, which no fewer than 15 state governments have already implemented.

On June 8, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Constitution Alteration Act, which amends Section 291 of the Constitution to ensure uniformity in the retirement age and pension rights of superior court judges.

This Act, the Fifth Alteration (No.37) to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, eliminates disparities in judicial officers’ retirement ages by harmonising them at 70 years.

It also reduces the length of service required to calculate a judicial officer’s pension from fifteen to ten years.

Furthermore, the Nigerian Senate recently passed legislation to raise the retirement age for civil servants working in the National Assembly to 65 years or 40 years of service.

The bill, which was initiated by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), has sparked debate across sociopolitical and ethnic lines.

PASAN has argued that raising the retirement age will help fill the void left by retiring experienced officers by better utilising their experience while developing the capacity of younger employees.

According to Sunday Sabiyi, PASAN chairman, President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign the Bill into law soon. When signed, national and state assembly workers will retire at the ages of 65 and 40 years of service, respectively.

Similarly, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has expressed optimism in its call for an increase in the retirement age for core civil servants.

While reiterating the association’s position, Joshua Apebo, ASCSN Secretary-General, urged the trade union movement to ensure that the retirement age in the public sector is uniform.

Apebo argued that because judicial officers, university lecturers, health workers, and primary school teachers now benefit from the new retirement age hike, and with the legislature’s approval, it was only fair that other core civil servants should as well.

Dr. Gboyega Daniel, a public affairs analyst, identified flaws in Nigeria’s retirement age disparities and advocated for immediate policy reforms to align the benchmarks.

According to Daniel, these disparities foster perceptions of inequality and favouritism, putting a strain on the pension system and affecting service morale and productivity, ultimately leading to imbalances and potential sustainability issues.

He believes that varying retirement ages complicate workforce planning and disrupt the systematic transfer of knowledge and experience.

“The civil service requires retirement at 60 years or 35 years of service, whereas professors and other academic staff retire at 70 years.

“Judges and justices in the judiciary typically retire between the ages of 65 and 70, depending on their position.

“Ditto for teachers, who have had their retirement age raised by the Buhari administration,” he said.

He proposed immediate legislative action to amend existing laws and implement policy reforms that would establish a unified retirement age across all sectors.

Dr Tunde Balogun, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, stated that the current debate over retirement age and length of service is not limited to Nigeria.

“The UK government recently announced that it was considering raising the retirement age for public servants from 60 to 68 years.

“Many EU member states currently have a retirement age of 65. Many countries have already decided to raise the retirement age to 67,” he explained.

Experts believe that raising the retirement age for core civil servants to 65 years and 40 years of service, as well as harmonising the disparities across the board, is a long-overdue policy.

Although some critics argue that the policy would be detrimental to their younger colleagues’ career advancement and would affect new employment opportunities, proponents argue that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

They believe government should demonstrate sincerity of purpose and apply a holistic approach to the issue. (NANFeatures)