THE PROBLEM OF RETIREMENT IN ENUGU STATE CIVIL SERVICE A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU STATE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION BOARD 

CHAPTER ONE

1.0  INTRODUCTION

Members of working class are individuals who are deeply engaged in paid employment mainly in work place and    organizations not their own. These places could be in the private or public sectors of the economy. These workers are remunerated on fixed wages or salaries instead of on commission or profit basis. They open the better part of their active life working for the growth, development and expansion of their organization. For their contributions to the progress for these organizations they receive virtually nothing in return other than salaries and/or wages. Salaries and wages are prices paid for their training, qualifications, experiences, risk taking, productivity and their other x-efficiency contributions to the overall development of their areas of employment as well as other sectors combined. However, they are not appropriately compensated for their contributions and based on this, they cannot be able to invest in other business ventures that will yield profits to them for the rainy days during the post retirement period and so, they face a lot of problems.

Retirement is an inevitable fact of life every employee must look forward to experience, it further confirms that whatever that has a beginning has an end. But due to unpreparedness and lack of adequate compensation on the part of the employers, there abound problems in the post retirement period and these made many retiring employees see retirement as the ultimate end of their careers and lives. It is phenomenal in Nigeria that there are army of retired government workers and teachers who have not received their retirement benefits after five (5) years. These people are made to undergo excruciating processes of verification and revivification and in the end some of them die without even collecting any benefit.

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The federal Government in 1988 through Decree N0.31 established National Primary Education Board, and the State Government through Edict established the State Primary Education Board and they manage the affairs of tutorial and non-tutorial staff of primary school by paying them salaries. These establishments were undergoing some reforms in their administration until 2004.

However, in 2004 there was another remarkable event and this was the establishment of Uniform Contributory Pension Scheme for both the public and private sectors throughout Nigeria. Contributory pension scheme is in vogue now where government contribute seven and half percent (7¹/₂%) of the employee’s basic salary on a monthly basis while employees shall contribute the same.

In this regard, the research work intends to x-ray the problems facing retirees, causes effects and possible solution to the problems of retirement in Enugu State Civil Service.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

There were many cases of frustration, economic hardship, stress meted to the retirees which in most times resulted to untimely deaths while in pursuit of their retirement benefits.  This constitutes a lot of problems in the management of their homes and the society at large. It therefore, becomes necessary to examine the problems which under assumptions might be responsible for these.

Looking at the situation of this country one can broadly say that the management is inability to prepare the prospective retirees for retirement while in service have contributed immensely to both physical and emotional stress. Some people’s opinion hold that the problem should be tagged inaccurate data while some are of the view that it was as a result of non implementation of retirement benefits.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The retirees in the civil service of Enugu State especially in the Universal Basic Education Board have been denied of their rights due to inefficiency and unpreparedness on the part of the government. Some times they have been pushed to the walls and like youthful undergraduates, have been forced to take to the streets inspite of their age and frailty.

In the light of these problems, therefore, the objectives of this study are:

1. To give an overview of the problems associated with the inefficient administration of pension schemes in the Enugu state Universal Basic Education Board.
2. To examine the major problems of the management inability to prepare the prospective retirees for retirement while in service.
3. To investigate causes of inaccurate data in the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board.
4. To suggest effective strategies for implementation of retirement benefit plan in the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The retirees     in the civil service as well as the masses in general have got enough negative impact of the retirement problems and so this research will be of most significance in the following ways:

• It sensitizes the state Universal Basic Education Board on the dimension of retirement benefit/ pension scheme administration.
• It facilitates intervention programmes on preventing existence of inaccurate data in the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board.
• It provides a practical solution to the problems of retirement benefit plan implementation as well as a reference to scholars in their various future researches towards minimizing or total eradication of all types of retirement problems.
• It serves as a guide to the management in the preparation of prospective retirees for retirement while in service.

• HYPOTHESES

This study proposes to test the following hypotheses:

1. Lack of administration of the pension scheme impedes productivity in the system.
2. Inaccurate records constitute problem during retirement.
3. Non implementation of retirement benefit plans discourages retirement of aged employee.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research which focused on the problems of retirement in Enugu State Civil Service is not purposed at studying all the facts about retirement rather it is focused on identifying the causes, effect, and remedy of the problems associated with retirement benefit.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

CIVIL SERVICE: It is a branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed.

PENSION: This is a periodic payment made by an employer to his retired employee until his death in consideration of past service rendered to the establishment.

ORGANIZATION: Social and economic entity in which different individuals perform a variety of functions in order to achieve common goal.

WORKER: A worker is any person who has entered into or work under a contract with an employer.

RETIREMENT: Retirement is generally when somebody is not physically able to perform in the organization as a result of old age, industrial accidents or any other events that may immobilize the worker to continue his normal organizational labour service.

EMPLOYER: Is any person who has entered to a contract of employment to employ another person as a worker either for himself, or the service of another person.