The financial well-being and quality of life of older adults in Nigeria

Nigeria’s pension system has historically been fraught with problems, including fraud, incompetence, and poor implementation. Consequently, older adults are often not adequately served by the system, resulting in a high degree of poverty within that population. However, very little attention has been given by scholars to the economic and social plight of older adults in the country. Using a snowball sampling procedure, we conducted face-to-face and telephone interviews of 45 retired adults residing in 10 states spanning all of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The findings revealed some differences in the experiences, financial well-being and quality of life of people who retired under the pension system that existed before the Pension Reform Act of 2014 and those who retired after that. The findings also indicate that pension amounts are inadequate for the basic needs of older adults, resulting in difficulties such as the inability to feed properly and pay for medical care. It is necessary for Nigeria’s leaders to develop policies to address financial insecurity and enhance the quality of life of older adults and provide them with supportive safety nets.