Post-Retirement Stress Under Non-Contributory Pension Regime: A Study of Retired Civil Servants in Ebonyi State Nigeria

Post retirement life is not devoid of stress. Retirees face a lot of challenges especially in the management of the non-contributory pension regime established by Act 102 of 1979 in Nigeria. The 2004 Pension Reform Act was introduced as alternative to these challenges. This study underscored the intricacies inherent in retirement stress and their coping strategies among retired civil servants in Ebonyi State Nigeria. The study population was retired civil servants. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to administer questionnaire to 365 respondents, out of which all were returned. The questionnaire focused on respondents’ demographic data and retirees coping strategies. In-depth interviews were conducted on 5 respondents; the President Nigerian Union of Pensioners, other two pensioners and the President and Secretary Nigerian Labour Congress. Result indicates that the most widely adopted coping strategies were; investment of gratuities (45.5%) and relocation to family houses (32.3%). The study recommends the adoption of the contributory pension regime which has a lot of advantages to retirees since it can afford them funds that will enable them provide their welfare needs. Key word: Coping strategies; Non-contributory pension; Stress; Welfare Nweke, J. O. (2015). Post-Retirement Stress Under Non-Contributory Pension Regime: A Study of Retired Civil Servants in Ebonyi State Nigeria. Canadian Social Science, 11 (6), 109-117. Available from: http://www.cscanada. net/index.php/css/article/view/7106 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3968/7106 INTRODUCTION Many people think retirement sounds like a great ideano job, lots of leisure time, and freedom to do just what you want when you want. After retiring, many find that getting out of the rat race isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. While it may be true that some retirees have a lot of extra leisure time, there are many problems associated with retirement and old age that can cause stress. This study therefore underscores the post retirement stress among retired civil servants in Ebonyi State under the non-contributory pension regime. It also examined the coping strategies adopted by retirees in overcoming retirement stress. a) Backgeround and Statement of the Problem The moment retirement comes knocking on the door of an employee it enters with challenges and expectations (Elezua, 1998). Retirement is typically associated with attendant stress for the average employee especially in a country like Nigeria with austere economic policies. In this light, Olayinka (2012) identifies sources of retirement stress to include: insufficient financial resources; (89%), problem of managing surplus time at their disposal (87%), stigma of being referred to as a retired person (86%) and problem of managing irregular or non-payment of retirement benefit (86%), learning new survival skill for post-retirement life (84%); finding suitable accommodation at that age and for their new status, (82%), adjustment to post retirement life style (83%), coping with long idle hours with their partners (78%), while problem of ageing and fear of imminent death is another source of stress for retired civil servants. The above is also supported by Denga (1986), Barnett and Whiteside (2002), Kolawole and Mallum (2004) and Adegoke (2006). To cope with retirement stress and meet the welfare needs is often very difficult for retirees especially when their income is reduced. Retirees’ ability to survive is a great challenge. Nwalo (2005) maintains that those who fail to prepare for their retirement never find the remaining part of their lives easy going. In order to cope with the